Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji
by NightElfCrawler
Summary: Trip down Memory Lane. An archived story I'm bringing back.
1. Chapter 1

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>"Sire?"<p>

"Mobilize the Akurei. We will move on the portal when our Lord announces our orders."

"But sire, the Tenshi will try to stop us…."

"Then find a way around it K'ruien. We must find the Shiseiji at all costs."

"Yes sire, it will be done."

Lord D'nari sighed and paced before the wide window overlooking the jagged mountains terrain covered with the white snow of the first signs of the coming winter. Things had gone from bad to worse in the last few months. The Tenshi had decided to finally make their move after many years of peace. What had started out as a small brawl over two households had emerged finally into a full scale religious war.

He sighed and leaned against the window putting one dark hand to his forehead. Politics…..

"Sire….?" A soft voice called from the doorway. He glanced up. His young daughter stood hesitantly in the doorway, a fearful look on her fragile face. "We're going to war aren't we?"

He sighed and slowly walked over to her and took her into his embrace. "I wish it didn't have to be that way."

She buried her face into his robes crying, her wings shaking with each sob. "Why do we always have to fight with them… Can't it ever stop?"

He sighed and stroked her hair. He wished desperately he could shield her from such danger….. that's what a father always wants to do for his child…..but he couldn't do anything in this case. Ever since the two races had clashed over the birth of the legendary Shiseiji, it had been nothing but tragedy.

~"Thus, born of nobility, dark and light, soul and body, love and hate, courage and fear, white and black, yin and yang, shall the savior of the two races arise. He shall unbind the ties and re-forge destiny, and thus shall the rings of the moon be merged."~

D'nari reflected on the prophecy. It was something that had been analyzed, examined, theorized, speculated, and argued about on both sides, ever since the beginning of time. Each race claimed that they were the First race, and disclaimed the others as being the Nishu, the second race. Both being egocentric and unwilling to bend, thus had the various religions, cults, and the stereotypes, the racism, the hatred, the disputes had been born. It had been raging for thousands of years now, and they were no better off than when their ancestors had begun the fight. It was a fight between the Akurei and the Tenshi. Those born of the darkness, and those born of the light. The Akurei were night people, powers drawing from the body, while the Tenshi were children of the sun, power of the spirit. Each race had their own different powers and abilities, each exact opposites from the other. It was staggering in some instances since though different, they were equally matched almost to a point of mirror reflection.

D'nari cursed bitterly in his mind. Unlike many of his colleagues, he held an opposing viewpoint to the majority of the public. He was the head of the Council of Regents, and therefore second in command of the country. He was well respected for his fairness, judgment, and battle skills. He was an adept leader, devious strategist, and efficient manager. But he, unlike the majority of the country, and the world, held a different view of the Shiseiji... 


	2. Chapter 2

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Gatherings_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>"Are you sure Taka? They'll let us in?"<p>

Taka smiled down at her. "Of course. Even if Tasuki's not there, the other guy….whazis name, Kouji? He'll be there right?"

Miaka looked dubious, but a fever of excitement flickered in her eyes hopefully, the thrill of venturing to see their friends again getting the best of her. She shifted Yuiren in her arms, the child having fallen asleep from the long walk up the mountain. She looked so innocent and sweet, just like her namesake had been. Miaka gently brushed some of the 5 year old's hair out of her eyes with a fond smile.

The two had reached the gate at the halfway to the summit, and a voice rang out threateningly. "HALT! Who approaches?"

Miaka glanced at Taka expectantly, and he stepped forward. "We're here to see Genrou!"

Miaka could see the bandits conferring up on the gate with each other, then one leaned over. "And who are you two?"

Miaka stepped up next to Taka and called up. "I'm Suzaku no Miko and this is Tamahome. We were hoping Tasuki was here."

There was more conferring and a few bandits disappeared, and moments later the gate was slowly creaking open, and one stepped forward holding a torch above his head. As he approached, Miaka recognized him. "Kouji-san!" She smiled brightly.

The blue haired bandit grinned. "Oi, well this is a surprise. What the hell you two doing back here. Thought ya went back ta yer world."

Miaka smiled back at him. "We just came to pay a visit."

Kouji shrugged. "Well Gen-chan's up top, so come on and we'll go." He turned and lead the way through the gates, and two other bandits flanked them as they walked the remainder of the way up to the hideout. As Miaka glanced around, she could see there were more people around looking as if they were on their guard. Also, she saw all the bandits were walking around with drawn swords. She caught up with Kouji quickly. "Ne, what's going on here? Why is everyone armed?"

Kouji shrugged. "Well, there's been some weird shit going on around here lately. Strange monsters attacking for no reason out of nowhere. We've had to tighten security and build higher additions to the gates as precaution." Miaka could see he was uptight and edgy. "Fucking weird I tell ya. Even Genrou can't figure it out."

Taka glanced over at his wife worriedly. "You don't think…."

"It can't be Tenkou again. We defeated and the Gods destroyed him." Miaka said softly, a feeling of apprehension in the pit of her stomach.

Kouji glanced back at them. "Well that ain't all either. There's some sort of fucking weird thing that's shown up not too far from here….. and…." They could see he was more than a little worn out over all of this. "…if not to make things worse, we have lost some men trying to go into it and figure it out."

They looked at each other puzzled. "What sort of weird thing?" Taka ventured.

Kouji gestured as they reached the top of the mountain where the building was. From there they had a clear view of the surrounding countryside, and just below them was the oddest thing they'd seen. In a small valley below, there was a large glowing blue portal of some kind that stood about ten feet in the air, shimmering like strange filtered light through water. It rippled and shimmered, and Miaka found herself staring at it fascinated and awestruck. "What is it?"

"We have no fucking clue." Kouji sighed tiredly. "We've tried poking it with swords, and they just go through with no resistance and all. We had one volunteer go through it, and he's not come back yet….so we really don't know." They glanced at each other worried. They both had no idea what to think. Kouji shrugged and gestured them inside, and they followed him into the hideout. "Wait here, I'll go tell Genrou you're here." And with that he walked off down a hall.

They both waited nervously thinking about the strange predicaments. Yuiren shifted murmuring something in her sleep and smiling as she leaned against her mother. They'd decided to bring her because she might enjoy the strange countryside and different people. Of course, they'd forgotten that strange things tended to happen around here…..

"OIIIII OBAKE-CHANNN!" Came a familiar shout, and they both jumped up with excitement as the familiar orange headed fire thrower strode into the room.

Taka leapt up and threw a punch at him playfully. "What'd ya call me Fang-kun?"

Miaka smiled happily. "Tasuki!"

The bandit smacked Taka back and grinned widely at Miaka. "Long time no see Miaka! What the hell you two doing here?" He said hugging Miaka, gently minding the child in her arms. "Cute kid."

Miaka smiled. "Her name's Yuiren. We just decided to visit you, and Suzaku said that we could."

Tasuki grinned. "Fucking good!" He gestured. "Come on come on, you guys hungry?" He led them into another room and a feast was ordered. They sat there for a long time, chatting late into the night, reminiscing and enjoying themselves.

It was past midnight when Miaka yawned. "I'm going to turn in…." She stood up and went off to the room that'd been reserved for them with Yuiren. Tamahome smiled as she left, then leaned back and sighed at Tasuki. "So where's Chichiri nowadays?"

Tasuki shrugged. "No idea. Haven't seen the bastard for years….." He looked slightly worried as he said that. "Saw him a few years ago, he stopped by on one of his journeys to say hi. He stayed a couple of days, then left and I haven't seen him since."

Tamahome shrugged. "Miaka was really hoping he'd be around…."

Tasuki nodded. "I can try to see if I can find his ki and get him here… he can usually hear me. But I can't promise anything, Tama." He looked slightly discouraged, as if he believed something might have happened to the mage. "But you'd better get some rest….it's been hectic around here lately, and I'm exhausted myself." He stood and stretched. "See ya in the morning Tama." 


	3. Chapter 3

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Preparation_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>D'nari paced back and forth in front of the lines of his people gathered before the gate. It was almost time…. But did they really want to do this? His wide wings were folded around him like a cloak, their leathery texture keeping in the warmth of the chill of the night. He sighed and leaned his hand on his ornate sword stuck in the scabbard by his side. The portal was to be opened….and the Tenshi weren't there to negotiate… of course it was the nighttime, and they were daytime creatures. He smiled slightly. At least they wouldn't have the diplomatic dispute.<p>

"Sire…." A sentry had approached and was kneeling respectfully beside him. "The Tenshi are approaching."

He sighed. _Then again…_ "I see…. How many?"

"A simple envois sire, no more than we have."

He nodded. "Thank you. Send a message that I wish to talk with the representative."

"Yes sire."

The sentry departed and D'nari didn't have long to wait until the Tenshi arrived. They were dressed in their own formal attire, which was much more decorative than the Akurei. He bowed respectfully, and the Tenshi representative bowed back. "It has been a while Lord D'nari."

"That it has Aerith."

Aerith straightened and smiled at him wryly, her blue eyes showing no humor. "So, it has come to this hasn't it? I assume there can be no settlement between us in this issue."

D'nari shook his head. "You know as well as I that I cannot allow such a thing, as much as we might wish it."

Aerith nodded. "Unfortunately." She sighed and glanced at the portal. "A truce while we are searching for the Shiseiji at least then?"

He nodded in consent. "Agreed. While we are in there."

She turned and examined the portal. "How long is it open for this time? And to where?"

He brought up a small deep black opal pendant hanging from his neck and gazed at it. "Approximately five days seven hours and three minutes. Location…unknown world of magic based origin, fairly primitive….. no trace of the Shiseiji."

She sighed. "Of course, the Shiseiji will be under tight disguise spells you idiot."

He smiled inside at that comment. Of course he knew that, but it was fun stating the obvious and having her think she knew it all and he didn't. "Yes of course, you're right."

Then suddenly, the portal flared a brilliant red color and slowly changed to a bright green. "It's time." He said softly unfolding his wings as Aerith did the same with her white feathered ones. "Shall we?"

She snorted. "Yeah yeah, you guys go first, we'll follow." She smirked at him. "Just don't try anything."

He smiled suavely and bowed politely. "Naturally my lady." She glared at him icily and he strode firmly into the portal without further ado, followed by his own sentry.

The trip through the portal was short and uneventful, seeing that they'd made the trip numerous times before, and this was nothing new to any one of them. They stepped out of the portal into the dim light of a dawning day in the new world they'd arrived in. It was nothing spectacular, they were in some mountains that had light snow higher up, the weather was crisp in the morning air, but still warmer than their own world had been at the same time of day. D'nari glanced about and saw there were a few strange humanoid looking creatures scattered about the portal, apparently sleeping. He shook his head. Some sentries they were.

Aerith and her peoples came out of the portal after them, stepping out nonchalantly. She stepped up to him and looked around standing next to him. "Some place eh? Doesn't look very impressive."

He shrugged. "There is a structure up there," he said pointing. "We should check it out rather than wake these fellows here I would think."

She nodded glancing over at the sun as it began to show it's face over the rises. "What about your people? Will the sun damage them?"

He snorted. Even though the two races had lived with each other for a long time, they still knew very little about the opposing side. When doing diplomatic things, they were ordered to be civil and polite, and not to engage in any disputes. It was hard often with most, but Aerith was much like D'nari himself was. Both of them believed in similar things, and that helped them with managing each other. This was perhaps why they were always sent together to go in search of the Shiseiji. They worked civilly together.

"Aerith, come on…. Does the moonlight hurt your people?" He sighed and began walking up the path towards the building up ahead. "I would think you should know by this time Aerith."

She snorted silently, her light pale silver hair blowing lightly in the soft breeze as they headed up the summit. "No need to get snappish." 


	4. Chapter 4

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Unmasking_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>"Leader! Leader!" Tasuki sat up groggily as one of his men burst into his room breathing heavily with wide eyes. "Wha…?" He grumbled out. "What the hell is so important ta get me up before dawn, damn it?"<p>

The bandit bowed in apology but glanced backwards with frightened eyes. "There's…. some people that came out of the thing! They….want to talk to you."

Tasuki blinked in surprise, then stood up and pulled his pants on without another question. "I'll be right out." The man bowed and left. Tasuki frowned as he pulled his boots on. _Out of the blue thing? What the hell is going on here?_

He finished dressing and grabbed his tessen, then headed out to the front of the building. Kouji and some other bandits were waiting for him there. He glanced at them questioningly, and Kouji came up and murmured in his ear. "They're fuckking weird Genrou."

Tasuki frowned and then stepped outside onto the porch. He stared at the newcomers in surprise, and with a hint of wariness. Then he nerved himself and stepped up. "Who the hell are you." He said, trying not to seem threatening, but attempting to make an impression.

The dark creature stepped forward and bowed with a flourish followed by the light one. "We are representatives from our world. We come in search of a particular person whom we are attempting to find. We were hoping you could help us locate this person, or if you could re-direct us to find someone who could do so."

Tasuki frowned. "What the hell are you guys?"

The dark one looked slightly insulted, but the light one, the female, stepped forward. "We are the Tenshi," She gestured at her people, all females and of the light wings and skin coloring, "and they are the Akurei." She gestured at the others. "I know we must seem strange to you, but I assure you that we mean no ill towards you or your kind."

Tasuki relaxed slightly at that. They did seem genuine, and they were polite. He glanced at Kouji and the other shrugged. "All right." Tasuki said folding his arms. "We'll listen to ya and try and help ya. Come on in." He lead the way and walked into the main hall room. The other bandits requested that the strangers weapons be surrendered, and they agreed and then seated themselves at the table as a meal was brought.

They were explaining to Tasuki the reason they were there, to search for the Shiseiji, who apparently, he figured, was some sort of special person. They said that the person was most likely disguised to fit into the surrounding peoples, and may not even know who they truly were, since the Shiseiji had disappeared as a small baby.

Miaka and Taka chose that point to finally awaken and enter the room, staring at the newcomers in surprise. Tasuki waved for them to sit down, and they did so silently, listening in on the conversation. Finally, Tasuki leaned back and sighed. "So…. You wanna know if this Shiseiji is in this world then?" They nodded. Tasuki glanced at Miaka and Taka. "Well Taiitsukun would be the person who'd know bout that, ne Miaka?"

Miaka nodded. "I'd think so."

Tasuki grinned. "Yosha! That's where we'll go then."

The one who'd introduced himself as Lord D'nari stood up. "If you would prefer, we can transport everyone there by air."

Tasuki looked dubious. "Fly?"

Aerith nodded. "Of course. It's much faster than ground travel."

Tasuki looked about ready to protest, but Miaka grinned. "That'd be fun! We'll go with you Tasuki!" she said ecstatically. Tasuki looked pale and less than pleased, but nodded in agreement. 

* * *

><p>Taiitsukun watched the two races with an impassive face. "The Shiseiji?"<p>

D'nari bowed. "Yes ma'am. Tasuki told us that you might be able to help us."

Taiitsukun frowned and for the first time since Miaka's group had met her, looked upset. "I see….." She sighed and closed her eyes. "I know who the Shiseiji is."

Both Aerith and D'nari leapt to their feet and cried out. "You DO?"

"Good god….. it's only taken over twenty years of searching….." D'nari whispered softly.

"Where is she then?" Snapped Aerith. "Tell us!"

Taiitsukun narrowed her gaze dangerously, and Aerith backed off. "Humph." Taiitsukun said slightly huffed. "With that attitude I might not tell you." D'nari was glaring dangerously at Aerith, and she looked slightly humbled. "But since I'm a generous person, I will."

They looked relieved, and Taiitsukun closed her eyes and began to focus. A glow of ki became apparent around her, and they could see her straining. Then she relaxed, but kept her eyes shut for a long time and didn't say anything.

"Well?" Aerith said finally after several minutes had passed. "Did you find her?"

D'nari put a restraining hand on her shoulder, a dangerous warning in his eyes. But Taiitsukun sighed and opened her eyes finally. "Yes. I found him."

Aerith looked relieved, and D'nari smiled. "Thank you Taiitsukun."

Miaka glanced over at Taiitsukun and saw that she looked weary and upset slightly. She glanced at Taka, and they shared the same look. Taiitsukun wasn't happy with the results….

"What is it Taiitsukun?" Miaka asked softly, and the Creator glanced at her and sighed then shook her head. "Is it bad?"

Taiitsukun glanced up. "Let me summon someone before I explain things." She concentrated, and before they could blink, sitting there cross-legged with a fishing pole in his hands, Chichiri appeared in the center of the floor looking more than startled. He blinked in confusion, looking around.

Taiitsukun grimaced. "Chichiri." He turned about quickly and instantly bowed half awkwardly, regaining his composure. "Put that down and listen."

His face reddened beneath his mask. "Da…. You could have warned me before you transported me here na no da." He set the pole down, then threw a warm glance back at Miaka, Taka, and Tasuki before glancing back up at Taiitsukun.

Taiitsukun put a hand to her forehead in annoyance. "Shut up and listen." Her voice was rather snappish, and Chichiri fell silent immediately recognizing that tone. He backed up to sit next to Miaka, glancing curiously over at the guests as he did so. Taiitsukun sighed and crossed her arms. "Tell me what you know of the Shiseiji." She asked of the two off-worlders.

Aerith spoke first. "The Shiseiji is something of an enigma in our world. She was abandoned as a young baby and hidden far away in another world, disguised so we couldn't find her. She's supposed to posses some sort of extraordinary powers unique to our world. She is also the one who is rumored to be able to bring peace and settlement to our peoples."

D'nari nodded slightly. "The Shiseiji is something of a… unique specimen, created differently than our people reproduction methods." Aerith stared at him in horror. "He was created by the physical bonding of a Tenshi and an Akurei."

"What?" Aerith screamed standing up furiously. "That's a lie!"

He glanced over at her calmly. "No, I'm afraid it isn't a lie."

Taiitsukun sighed and they both shut up quickly. "Tell me that he's lying." Aerith demanded."

"He's not."

Her eyes widened in shock and she sat back slowly on her heels a look of disgust crossing her face.

Taiitsukun closed her eyes in frustration and grimaced. "The Shiseiji is a blend of Akurei and Tenshi. Both, and yet none." They looked confused. "To put it simply, the best of both of you." She looked from the visitors to Tasuki, Miaka, Taka, and finally Chichiri. Her eyes rested on him then narrowed. "Are you prepared for this, all of you?"

Miaka and the others glanced confused at each other then at Taiitsukun. "What do we have to do with it?" She asked nervously.

"We've been waiting for years to find him, we're prepared." Aerith said sharply.

Taiitsukun shrugged and gestured with her hand. "Don't say that I didn't warn you. Nyan Nyan!" Instantly the giddy little girls popped into existence around them, giggling and running around. "Stop it!" Taiitsukun barked sharply at them, and they quickly were subdued. She sighed. "Very well then. Chichiri!"

The monk looked up surprised. "Hai?"

Taiitsukun gestured. "Put your stuff down and take your clothes off."

Everyone stared at her blankly, blinking slightly at that. "Ahh….." Chichiri stuttered. "W…What?"

"You heard me. Take off your kesa, shirt, and your mask." Her face was impassive and showed no signs of emotion.

Tasuki, Miaka, and Taka were staring at Chichiri, and the monk was flushing brightly beneath his mask. "Uh….h..hai." He managed, and slowly obeyed her commands, his face bright red as he removed his mask and set it down with his shirt and kesa on the floor.

"Beads too." He looked uncertain, but obeyed and looked up at her questioningly. "Now, come up here and kneel on the floor." She said, pointing before her. He did so wordlessly, a look of puzzlement on his face. The Nyan Nyans swarmed around him then, grabbed onto his arms and surrounded him.

"Taiitsukun…." He said, glancing back at her. "What's this all about no da?"

Taiitsukun didn't answer, and was focusing on gathering her ki about her. Miaka glanced worriedly at Tasuki. Tasuki was staring at Taiitsukun hard. "What the fuck is she doing?"

The visitors were watching Chichiri with sharp gazes, slight disbelief in their eyes. "He couldn't be the one we're looking for." Aerith snapped angrily. "What is this all about?"

Taiitsukun was glowing brightly green as the ki gathered, and the Nyan Nyans were holding Chichiri still, almost pinning him to the floor. He looked nervous but didn't move or protest. As Taiitsukun gathered her ki, a glowing green spot began to form around Chichiri, and the Nyan Nyans tightened their grip, making the monk flinch at their iron grip. They were hurting his arms and legs by pinning him to the floor, and he couldn't breath with the ones' sitting on top of him.

Then, Miaka and the others shielded their eyes as an explosion of light burst into the room surrounding Chichiri, forcing them to look away to keep from becoming blinded. They could feel enormous power radiating around the room, fluctuating and surging in and out like tidal waves. They were so busy shielding their eyes, they didn't hear the scream until later. It was piercing, an agonized howl of pain and excruciating agony. Miaka was hugging Taka tightly, a frightened look on her face, and Tasuki was clutching his tessen in his hands protectively, as if it would block out the piercing scream of pain. Aerith and D'nari were watching silently, no reaction showing on their faces.

Then, the light began to fade, and they could see the outline of Chichiri lying limply on the floor, the Nyan Nyans backing off from him and waiting out of the way. Chichiri was still, not moving at all, and Miaka whimpered softly. "Chichiri….."

Taiitsukun gestured, and a few Nyan Nyans turned the monk over onto his back. His eye was closed, his face pale, he looked as if death had taken him. One of the Nyan Nyans lightly shook him, while another rubbed his hands. Everyone was holding their breaths, not sure what had just happened, but not daring to move else Chichiri not wake up. Finally however, he gave a low moan, and his eye flickered open. Miaka let out her breath relieved, and Tasuki looked about ready to pass out from the stress. The Nyan Nyans helped Chichiri sit upright, but he was shaking and shuttering slightly. Taiitsukun sighed. "Chichiri…. Are you strong enough to go through with this? We can wait if you're not ready."

Chichiri looked up at her, a look of pain and confusion on his face. "I… don't understand this….."

Taiitsukun closed her eyes and shook her head. "I simply unsealed the link to your powers. When you were brought to me as a child, I sealed them in order for you not to stand out or misuse your powers."

Chichiri stared uncomprehendingly at her. "What…. Are you talking about? He glanced at the visitors. "What powers? My Seishi powers?"

Taiitsukun shook her head. "No Chichiri. You're capable of much much more than just being a Seishi." With that she gestured, and the Nyan Nyans backed off out of the way and she looked evenly at him. "Now Chichiri, this will be incredibly painful for you, but you must pull through it, understood? You can't pass out until it's over with or you could die."

He bit his lip and managed to raise to one knee and kneel there uncertainly, his hands still shaking a bit. "H….hai…." He whispered, and Miaka could feel his terror and confusion. She felt sorry for him, and wished that he could have had some say in it….

"Very well then. Are you prepared Chichiri?" Taiitsukun asked gently to him. Chichiri bowed his head in acknowledgment, and she sighed, then brought her hands up in concentration before her face.

A soft light began to form around Chichiri, wrapping around him like a blanket. Then it brightened so that they couldn't see him at all through the bright light. The air crackled with strange energy, white streaks of lightning mixed with black. It grew incredibly stifling hot, but chilly and bitter at the same time. It was dry and static hung in the air, but humid and heavy. Strange images were swirling in the air around them, mixing and dancing, but undefined.

Miaka watched with fear on her face, worried about her friend as she clutched Taka to her. Taka held her gently stroking her hair rhythmically to calm her. Tasuki was watching with a worried look on his face. Aerith and D'nari were looking on with some excitement, apprehension, and concern.

The tension in the air grew as the crackling air increased, sending tingling sparks through them as the tendrils of lightning touched their skin. Then the glow around Chichiri began to diminish slowly, showing a dark form huddled against the ground shivering. Miaka's breath caught in her throat.

"Shit…." Tasuki whispered, his eyes wide and mouth open in shock.

Chichiri was huddled on the ground, still conscious, but they could tell he was in incredible pain. But if it hadn't been for the fact that they knew it was Chichiri, they wouldn't have recognized him.

Feathered wings, black as the night jutted from his back, hanging limply with exhaustion. His skin had turned a deep tan color, more bronze than anything, and his hair was a dark indigo blue now. He had been entirely transformed. They couldn't see his face, his hair hung limply over his face as his head was bowed.

The Nyan Nyans gathered around Chichiri, putting their hands up to him for support as he sagged forward unconscious at last. Taiitsukun relaxed and waved a tired hand to the Nyan Nyans, and they vanished with Chichiri.

Miaka was shivering against Taka, her eyes wide. "Poor Chichiri…" she whispered.

Tasuki looked at the strangers with a distrustful glare. "What the fuck did you do to him old bag?"

Taiitsukun glanced at Tasuki with an irritated glare, but it was obvious she was too tired to bother hitting him. "I simply changed him back into his true form Tasuki."

"True form?" Tasuki scowled. "He's some sort of a freak!"

Aerith snarled at the bandit, but D'nari put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "In our world it would be the same Tasuki. He is a combination of our two races, something that's never happened before."

Taiitsukun nodded. "The wings of the Tenshi, yet their coloring is like the Akurei. Dark hair like Akurei, light eyes like the Tenshi. Skin a blend of the both, sex a blend of the both."

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. "What?" Tasuki blurted out. "What about sex?"

"The Tenshi is a race of females, the Akurei is a race of males." Taiitsukun explained. "Their reproduction methods are magical, by producing a child from use of their powers. Never have they done the physical joining that humans do."

Tasuki blinked. "No sex? They don't have sex?"

Taiitsukun gave him an amused glare. "Correct. The result of the physical joining of the two, is Chichiri. He has the physical body of a male, but none of the correct organs. He also has the temperament and intelligence of a female, yet none of the physical characteristics."

They all looked rather blank as they tried to digest this new information. Aerith and D'nari looked particularly puzzled. "So….. he's what would happen if we reproduced the physical way?"

"Because your peoples decided to reproduce in a magical way, your bodies began to adapt for that. If you had reproduced like humans do, your entire race would be similar to what Chichiri is now."

Aerith stood up with rage on her face. "That's ridiculous! We would never be a race of heterosexuals! That is absolutely repulsing! I still refuse to believe a Tenshi and an Akurei actually mated in that way, with EACH OTHER!" Her face had turned bright red. "I know other cultures may mate with the opposite gender, but ours does not! It is entirely repulsive to even THINK about it!"

Taiitsukun stared at her until she began to get uncomfortable, and she sat back down again, but didn't look any happier. D'nari spoke softly to add to what Aerith had said. "In our culture, we find another mate of our race that fits for reproducing, and then a joining is done. It's considered unusual for someone to wish to join with one of the opposite race. There are groups of people who do engage in such actions, but they are shunned by the majority of both races."

Aerith nodded in agreement. "Disgusting animals."

Miaka was nodding. "It's like that in our culture, but it's backwards to your culture." She hugged Taka for emphasis. "Many people don't approve of having a romance with someone of the same sex as they are, and they can't produce a child that way."

Aerith looked disgusted at having to picture the way that humans mated, and stood up and walked outside in a huff without a further word. D'nari watched her go, then shook his head. "She's less tolerant of others I'm afraid. I apologize for her behavior, I hope she didn't offend you, Miaka."

Miaka shook her head. "It's ok, I can see where she's coming from."

D'nari sighed quietly. "I'm afraid, unfortunately, her opinion matches the majority of both of our people's. There are some violent actions taken against heterosexuals." He looked sad as he spoke. "People's reactions to the Shiseiji will be mixed, now finding out exactly what he is."

Taiitsukun sighed. "Do you think they will refuse him?"

He seemed to think for a while. "No…. they won't outright refuse him. The Shiseiji has been in our legends for years and years. It's an expectation that's been born from the birth of our peoples, it's taught in the schools, and in all our beliefs…. They won't scorn it in public, but in private….well that's a different matter."

Taiitsukun sighed. "Well, I'm going to go and rest. Miaka, Taka, Tasuki, please make yourselves comfortable. I would leave Chichiri be for a bit, he's most likely worn out and emotionally confused right now." And with that the Creator vanished. 


	5. Chapter 5

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Adaptations_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>Miaka tentatively stuck her head into Chichiri's room, trying to determine if he was awake or not without making a noise. He was lying on his stomach, his wings open on either side of him on the bed. His breathing was slow and deliberate, but Miaka had the feeling it was forced. She crept into the room quietly. "Chichiri?" she asked softly. "Are you awake?" He didn't respond or make any motions, so she walked to the side of his bed and sat down in a chair there. She glanced over and saw his eye was open. "Hi." She said softly.<p>

He managed a small smile at her. "Hi."

"How are you doing?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry Miaka-chan." His soft voice spoke quietly.

She frowned at hearing his tone. "I didn't ask how you WOULD be, I asked how you ARE Chichiri. Don't lie to me, come on."

He closed his eye slowly at took a deep breath at that. "All right, fine Miaka, I'm in pain right now, confused, and quite frankly scared to death."

She sighed quietly, glad at least he was being honest. "I'm sorry Chichiri….. I wish there was something I could do to help." She said softly. Then she glanced over and saw that his back was red and puffy where the wings protruded. She stood up and leaned over to get a better look. He flinched slightly, and she gently pushed the black feathers aside to see better. She was amazed at how soft they were, and secretly envied him. "This is really badly inflamed." She said as she touched his skin and found it was hot to the touch.

"I know."

She stood back up and walked over to the bathroom, drew a bowl full of water and got some cloths and came back and gently dipped them into the cold water and laid them on his back. "This will help somewhat." She said as she laid them across the swollen areas.

He was silent for a while, then after she'd finished he spoke softly. "Thank you Miaka…."

She smiled and took his hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. "God…. I'm so sorry you have to go through this Chichiri….. they should have at least given you a choice."

He closed his eye, then opened it and looked at her. "I really didn't have a choice either way Miaka chan no da. It's who I am, though I may not have known it no da."

She scowled. "But it's not your fault what you were born as, and they can't force this responsibility on you like this."

"I'm used to it Miaka, remember what being a Seishi means no da. It's very similar to this actually no da."

She pulled herself up short. He was right… those who were Seishi didn't have a choice in the matter, they were given that responsibility when they were born and had to fulfill it, like it or not. She sighed. "Yeah, but they could have given you more time to think about it, or to get ready or something."

He sighed quietly and smiled slightly. "It would only be delaying the same end result anyway no da."

She sighed and nodded slightly. "I guess…. But honestly, how are you doing Chichiri?" She looked at him worriedly. "If it were me, I'd be terrified….."

He smiled slightly. "You know, I am scared of what it might be like….. but not that much no da." He looked thoughtful. "I really don't have anything tying me down here no da….. no family, and the only friend is Tasuki…. So going to another world wouldn't be that difficult for me no da." He chuckled slightly. "The thing I'm worried most about is learning how to fly no da."

She smiled. "Geeze Chichiri… I'd be scared stiff. I'm freaked of hights."

He shrugged and winced at the movement. "It's not hights that scare me no da. It's the fact that I'd have to learn how to do it no da….. manage the wind currents, stormy weather, things like that no da."

She smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess." She glanced at him, and was slightly startled to see that his eye color was very different. It was a pale light silvery color, but with a slight sheen of rainbow pastels mixed in so that it looked different colors in different lights. Right now it was a slight yellow-orange color, and had Miaka observed him more, she would have found out that his eye color reflected his moods.

Just then, there was a soft tapping on the door, and Tasuki's fanged face popped in. "Oi, hi Miaka." He walked in, leaving the door open as he strolled over. "How ya doing Chichiri? You ok?"

Chichiri sighed softly and gave a small groan as he rolled over onto one side, the cloths falling to the bed warm by now. "Sure, just dandy no da."

Tasuki snorted. "You look like some sort of freak." He leaned over and snatched one of Chichiri's wings and lifted it up peering at it. Chichiri gasped softly, since it hurt a great bit to move them, but didn't protest. Tasuki whistled. "Geeze…. This is really weird!" He reached forward to pluck a feather, but Miaka slapped his hand away.

"Stop it Tasuki, it hurts him if you do that. Like if I pulled some of your hair out." She grabbed his hair to emphasize her point and he yanked away dropping Chichiri's wing.

"Yeah yeah, fine." He snorted and plopped himself cross-legged on the edge of the bed. "So how are you Chichiri?"

Chichiri sighed softly looking defeated and rubbed his back slightly, letting his wings rest on either side of him. "A bit better than before I suppose no da." He yawned a bit rubbing his eye. "Exhausted too no da."

Miaka stared at her hands. "What are you going to do now?"

Chichiri stared ahead at nothing for a while before answering. "I guess I have to go back with them now no da." He said softly. "I can't just stay here and refuse to go with them no da."

Tasuki snarled. "It ain't fuckking fair! They're forcing you into this! You shouldn't go with em."

Chichiri glanced over at Tasuki with a slight annoyed look. "Then what do you suggest no da? Stay here like this no da?" He gestured to himself. "Somehow I think I might stand out no da." He said bitterly.

Tasuki bit his lip. "Shit…." He scowled and crossed his arms angrily. "So yer gonna go with em? By yerself?"

Chichiri glanced up at him. "With them of course no da. Unless you want to come along no da." He added jokingly. Tasuki didn't answer immediately, surprising Chichiri slightly. The bandit was in deep thought and looked as if he was seriously pondering just that. "You aren't serious Tasuki….. From what it sounds like, there are no humans in their world no da."

He glanced up. "Yeah, I know, but shit Chichiri, we're good friends and all! What am I supposed to do? Just let ya go in there all by yerself?" He looked deadly serious and returned Chichiri's puzzled gaze evenly. "You'll need a friend in there."

Chichiri looked slightly surprised, and a bit grateful at the bandit's words. "Tasuki…." He smiled and lowered his head, shaking it slightly. "Thank you, but I think you should probably stay here no da." He glanced up and finally smiled slightly, and Miaka felt slightly relieved to see a shadow of the old Chichiri return. "You might not be able to come back here no da."

Tasuki shrugged. "So what?" He grinned lopsidedly. "What? You don't want me to go with ya?" He put an arm around Chichiri's shoulders casually and poked him in the chest. "Come on pal, we've been friends for a long time now, I'm not gonna let ya go into this alone."

Chichiri sighed. "Thank you Tasuki…." He smiled gratefully, giving up.

Miaka smiled glad that Chichiri would have someone to help him at least.

Just then there was a knock on the door, and a soft voice. "May I come in?"

"Hai."

The door opened and D'nari came in quietly with a smile on his face. "I hope I'm not disturbing you…" Chichiri shook his head. "Good." He came over and folded his arms on his chest and stared at him thoughtfully. "I apologize for this whole incident Chichiri-sama.…."

Chichiri shook his head negatively. "Don't. It isn't necessary no da. There's nothing that is any fault of yours no da, it's just a bad arrangement of circumstances no da."

D'nari shook his head. "Nonetheless, I feel semi responsible for this…" He looked uncomfortable, but raised his eyes to meet Chichiri's.

Chichiri glanced up and smiled at him. "You aren't responsible for what's happened no da. I appreciate your feelings toward it no da." He held out a hand, and D'nari looked at him for a minute, then took it and they clasped hands in friendship.

"I'm afraid that others in my world may react differently to you however" D'nari said softly. "They as a majority are more prejudice."

Chichiri nodded. "Understood no da." He slowly slid out of bed and stood for a little while regaining his composure, then stretched a bit.

Miaka sighed. "So when are you going to leave?"

D'nari shook his head. "Whenever he's ready. We won't push you Chichiri-sama."

Chichiri turned back to him, his eyes shifting to a soft pale green color as he smiled. "It's ok no da. I think I'll be ready soon." He glanced at Tasuki and raised an eyebrow.

Tasuki caught the glance and stood up. "Um, I was wondering if I could come with ya."

D'nari looked surprised. "Come with us? To our world?" He looked puzzled. "Whatever for? You'd be alone there…. We have no peoples like you there."

Tasuki shrugged. "Feh, so what. I always wanted ta see other places and all." He elbowed Chichiri in the ribs. "Besides, he's gonna need someone to watch his back fer a while."

D'nari frowned slightly. "Well….. I suppose it wouldn't be a large problem… but you might not be able to return. There's no telling what will happen to the portals once the Shiseiji returns to our world. It's possible that it will close, and then you'll be forced to stay there."

Tasuki shrugged. "What's life without risk, eh?"

D'nari shrugged and nodded. "You're right. You're choice of course." He smiled and patted the bandit on the shoulder. "You're brave for wanting to come without knowing what our world's like." He nodded. "I like that."

Tasuki grinned and Chichiri shook his head in amusement. Miaka simply wondered if she would ever see them again…. 


	6. Chapter 6

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Arrival_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>The sun was beginning to set over the mountains with a soft burning glow as they once again gathered in the main room. Aerith and D'nari knelt to the side, Miaka, Taka, and Tasuki were kneeling in front of her, and Chichiri was nowhere to be seen. Miaka glanced around wondering where he was, when he entered the room. He looked much better than he had been, he could stand up straight and support the weight of his wings now. He joined them, kneeling down on the floor beside Tasuki. Taiitsukun nodded slightly. "Well, if there is no more to be said, I wish you well on your way to a new life Chichiri. Remember your training and don't get carried away."<p>

He nodded slightly, keeping his eye down. Taka could see that the mage didn't want to leave the world he'd grown up in to go live in another, but he wasn't about to complain about it either. D'nari bowed to Taiitsukun. "Thank you for all your help in finding what we were searching for. We are very grateful." Aerith nodded in acquiescence to that.

Taiitsukun said nothing, but bowed her head in dismissal. Everyone stood up and slowly exited the room silently. The other Tenshi and Akurei were waiting politely in front of the building for them, dressed in their elaborate robes and armor. D'nari and Aerith headed over to brief them, while Chichiri said his good-byes.

Miaka hugged him tightly, tears trickling down her cheeks. "Oh God Chichiri… we'll miss you…. You'll find a way to come back and visit won't you?"

He smiled and hugged her back warmly, a sad smile on his lips. "Hai, of course I will Miaka-chan no da." A tear trickled down his cheek as he hugged her. "We'll see each other again no da."

Tasuki was shaking Taka's hand warmly. "Well Obake-chan, guess it's goodbye again eh?" His fangs shone in the late afternoon light brightly.

Taka scowled. "You don't get yourself killed, or I'll kick your ass Fang-kun."

Tasuki laughed obnoxiously and hit him across the head. "I'd beat your ass any day of the week."

Taiitsukun floated near Chichiri as he separated from Miaka. "Chichiri…." She held something out to him wrapped in a cloth. "Take this with you, but don't open it until you're there." He accepted it silently, and put it inside his pants pocket and bowed in gratitude to her. She nodded and floated off to a distance as the others stood back.

Chichiri gave one final look back to Miaka and Taka and gave a small wave. "Take care you two… we'll meet again no da."

Miaka smiled tearfully. "Take care you two…"

Tasuki grinned and hung his arm casually around Chichiri's shoulders. "Eh, I'll keep im out of trouble, you can count on the mighty Gen-chan!"

Chichiri looked slightly exasperated, but smiled softly.

"Come on you two, we must make it to the portal before it vanishes." D'nari smiled at Chichiri. "Ready for your first flying lesson?"

Chichiri swallowed, but nodded. "Hai."

Aerith and her Tenshi leapt into the air and started ahead of them, and D'nari waited politely for Chichiri. Tasuki bit his lip. "Ara, where do I go?"

D'nari nodded to a warrior and he stepped forward. "I'll carry you sir." The warrior spoke up politely.

Tasuki growled something, but agreed, and the Akurei picked him up, then leapt into the sky, Tasuki howling in fear. "Ayaaaaaaa…"

Everyone sweatdropped, and D'nari shook his head. "He's brave for wanting to come with us….." He glanced at Chichiri. "Are you ready?"

Chichiri nodded and opened his large black feathered wings in preparation. The wind was blowing slightly, ruffling his feathers and making it look like rippling darkness. His eyes were a shade of green aqua blue, and flickered back to the others. "Ja ne Miaka, Taka, Taiitsukun…. Take care no da."

Miaka waved, tears on her face, and Taka grinned and waved after him. Chichiri turned and watched D'nari leap into the air effortlessly. He stretched his wings, and then pumped them down with a strong force of action, and he was flying up into the air with incredible speed. The wind rushed by his face, making his hair fly out behind him as he pumped his wings up and down and caught up with D'nari in no time. He was surprised at how easy it was, and as he stared down at the shrinking land beneath them, he was amazed at how good it felt.

D'nari smiled encouragingly at him. "How are you doing?"

Chichiri smiled. "It's easier than I assumed no da. It's a wonderful sensation as well no da."

D'nari nodded. "That's usually the case." He smiled at him. "But it is the most wonderful feeling at times. Especially when you soar over mountains, lakes, trees, and see the land spread out beneath you like a carpet, play among the clouds and race with friends. It's a thrilling experience."

Chichiri nodded, feeling his heart pounding as he felt the rushing thrill of the air against his feathers. He could get used to this. He sped ahead and pulled alongside the warrior who was carrying Tasuki and smiled at the bandit who had his eyes squeezed tightly shut. "How are you doing Tasuki no da?"

Tasuki squeezed one eye open and glared at him. "What the hell does it look like aho!" He shivered. "Man ain't meant to fly damn it."

Chichiri chuckled and glanced up at the clouds they were skimming underneath. His heart felt so…. Free…. Like it was going to burst. He smiled and dove up into the clouds, vanishing from sight, and then bursting through on the top of them, watching the fading sun in the distance as it set over the mountains that peeked above the cloud layer. He trailed a hand through the clouds as he flew directly above them, then dove down back through them and burst out just behind the group. He couldn't keep his smile back, it felt so good….

Time passed quicker than he thought, and before long they were descending and landing just below Mt. Leikaku. Tasuki practically threw himself at the ground the minute they touched down, kissing it repeatedly. Chichiri landed lightly on his feet and stretched. His wings were sore since he'd never done that before, but he couldn't shake the wonderful feeling he'd experienced as he flew above the clouds. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before… And he relished it.

The Akurei lined up in a formation in front of the flickering portal that stood tall, it's blue tendrils of light flickering around the clearing. Chichiri stared at it with some trepidation. This was a gateway to another world….. what lay beyond it, was beyond him. He felt someone come up to him, and he glanced down to see Tasuki standing next to him, his arms crossed as he stared at the thing. "Looks odd don't it?" he stated, not really asking it as a question.

Chichiri nodded, glancing down at the bandit, who was now considerably shorter than himself. His height had increased since his transformation. "Yes…. Are you sure you want to come with me Tasuki-kun no da?" He asked softly. "It's not too late to decide to stay here after all no da."

Tasuki didn't answer immediately. And that was enough to make Chichiri glance down at him, only to see the bandit staring at the portal with trepidation. "Shit….." He murmured under his breath..

Chichiri sighed under his breath. He gently put a hand on Tasuki's shoulder. "I'll see you again, I promise Tasuki-kun. You take care of yourself no da."

Tasuki hung his head. "I'm sorry Chichiri…." He looked up at him, then they embraced. "Take care of yourself. Don't get killed or nothin."

Chichiri smiled and nodded in agreement. "I'll do my best no da."

The Tenshi were lined up on one side of the gate, with the Akurei on the other. Aerith was standing there impatiently, her arms crossed. "Come on, what are we waiting for?"

D'nari glanced at Chichiri, and Chichiri nodded. "One minute now Aerith…. Who is he going to go with once we return home?"

Aerith snorted. "Us of course. After all, WE are the chosen race."

D'nari sighed and put a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "Aerith, please, let's not get into this. Be realistic. We both wish him to come with us both. We have to make a realistic decision on this."

Chichiri waited with Tasuki behind them, his arms crossed and his face slightly impatient. Tasuki glanced at him. "Oi, if they fight like this all the time, it's gonna be a lot of work fer ya." Chichiri sighed and nodded.

Finally, Chichiri had had enough of their arguing. He stepped forward and stood in between them, glancing from one to the other. They quickly shut up and stared at him. "Look. Arguing won't solve anything no da. How about I go with one of you for a week, then go to the others for a week no da. That way it's fair no da. You guys can flip to decide where I go first no da."

They exchanged glances, and nodded in agreement, and quickly determined who would take Chichiri first. As luck would have it, Aerith was the one who got lucky, and she grinned triumphantly and immediately strode through the gate followed by her warriors. D'nari sighed and shrugged. "Well, then we'll be seeing you in a week Chichiri-sama. Tasuki-san, it was good meeting you. Farewell." He bowed. "Please, after you Chichiri-san."

Chichiri and Tasuki exchanged final glances, then Chichiri stepped forward to the gate, hesitated briefly, then stepped inside without a ripple on the gate's surface changing. Tasuki watched wordlessly as his friend vanished, and then the Akurei stepped into the portal one by one, and with the last vanishing, the portal disappeared in a burst of blue light. He stood there as the last rays of the sun vanished with the day, and wondered if he truly would ever see his friend again.

Chichiri was amazed….. he wasn't sure what he had expected the trip to be like, but he hadn't expected to see what lay before him. It was as if he was floating in a vast void of stars, glittering and expanding out beneath him like an endless carpet. There were bright glowing orbs hanging all over the place, creating something like a catwalk or guiding him along. He barely had time to take it in, when suddenly, he was speeding faster forward than he could ever dream of. Everything blurred together in a bright blue whirl of colors. The oddest thing was that there was no wind, yet it felt as if he were rushing faster than anything was possible. It was a rush like no other, and he barely had time to gasp before there was an explosion of light, and he was floating in the midst of a multi colored nebula. He stared about him in fascination. It was incredible! All the colors of the rainbow floated around him, mixing with each other, and forming a hazy blend of illumination.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

He whirled around and saw, to his surprise, a figure of a woman beside him. She had jet black hair, skin, and eyes, she was slender like a graceful swan, and her feathered wings were jet black, but sparkled with a starry light. She smiled warmly at him. "This is the essence of life Houjun. It is what all of the universe, all the worlds, are made of. Pure magic, that is."

He stared out at it in awe. "It's fantastic."

She nodded. "Yes….that it is." She crossed her arms and smiled. "This is a glimpse to you Houjun, of what your power is, and where it lies. It is in this vast place that you have access to it. Keep that in mind."

He nodded. "I see, but how am I supposed to know…."

"You will know."

He frowned, but didn't push it. "Who are you?"

She smiled. "Who am I?" She seemed to think about that for some time. "Think of me as….. Yang. Yes, that will do. I am the opposite force. That which compliments the other. Half of you."

He blinked. "Half of me?"

But she merely smiled, and everything exploded.

Chichiri blinked groggily, his head pounding incredibly. The first thing he saw was grass sticking in his face, and he heard voices sounding excited all around him. He slowly lifted his head, and saw there was an enormous crowd of people everywhere around, all dressed in similar battle garb to the emissaries. They were talking excitedly, asking questions and trying to peer over the emissaries who were trying to maintain order. They were both Tenshi and Akurei, each race separate on different sides, but both equally excited.

Chichiri gave a soft groan, and finally sat up. Once he did, there was a hush among the people. He felt all their eyes on him, and he squirmed uncomfortably under their scrutiny. The silence was overwhelming, and Chichiri knew they were all watching him. He hated being the center of attention, and today was no exception….

D'nari walked over to him, along with Aerith. "It's all set. The Tenshi will receive you, and then you'll be escorted back to our lands in a week." He shook Chichiri's hand. "We'll see you then."

Chichiri smiled and nodded in farewell to the kind Akurei he'd become fond of. "Hai, you take care too no da."

D'nari smiled, and he turned and leapt into the air with his emissary, and the other Akurei slowly began to depart. Aerith crossed her arms and nodded. "Well then, let's depart for home." And she leapt into the air. The other emissary waited for Chichiri who followed Aerith, his legs lifting him off the ground as he jumped and pumped his wings. 


	7. Chapter 7

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Revelations_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>The palace was unlike anything he'd ever seen in his lifetime….. The spires of it rose high into the sky like trees or mountains. The palace was built out of white marble that shone brighter than snow as it sat atop the high cliffs overlooking the ocean. Chichiri stared at it, eye wide in amazement. In his world, the buildings had been short and low, rarely with more than two stories built onto them. However, these monstrous things spiraled into the air with as many as ten stories stacked onto them. Banners and multi colored flags flapped strongly in the brisk wind, and birds soared around the towers, riding the breeze. He could see an enormous crowd was gathered below in a square, signs held up with strange writing that he couldn't make out. As he neared, he could hear them.<p>

They were cheering.

His heart beat rapidly in his chest as he saw people standing on rooftops jumping up and down, children and adults waving, and music playing below. It was a full on celebration all in honor of him arriving. A smile flashed briefly across his face at that, and he felt a flutter of excitement in his chest. All of this…. For him….

Aerith descended towards the center of the palace, and he followed suit, flanked by the other emissaries. As he soared down between the turrets and buttresses, people leaned out the windows, waving cloths at him. As they flew lower, a large courtyard filled with people dressed in elaborate outfits appeared, a beautiful fountain of white marble in the center spewing water crystal clear and pristine.

Aerith landed lightly in front of a row of people holding staffs with crystal globes set in them, and bowed elaborately. Chichiri landed somewhat more awkwardly behind her and regained his balance, then bowed formally in his style to them.

Silence reigned through the courtyard for a few seconds, then the woman with a small golden circlet on her head set with a blue gem smiled at him and stepped forward. "So," She said in a soft mellow voice. "This is the legendary Shiseiji at last." She offered a hand out to him, and he took it and clasped hands with her.

"Ore wa Chichiri desu no da." He said formally to her with a small smile.

She smiled wider. "Chichiri-sama, it is my pleasure and honor to welcome you to Elmaia." And with that there was an exploding roar from the surrounding spectators.

He was blown away by the enormous welcome he'd received, and felt rather shy about the whole thing. "Thank you, it's my pleasure to be here." He responded struggling to be heard over the roar of the crowd.

The woman nodded and gestured for him to accompany her, and she headed towards the arched double doors to the side. The spectators and nobility parted for them and allowed himself and the woman, plus a great deal of women trailing them, to pass through into the palace. Once they were inside, the doors were shut, and the noise of the crowd died down a bit. The woman lead him into a large room filled with more people, with many pillows on the floor where they sat on their knees politely waiting. She led him to a pillow towards the front of the room, and he knelt there as she and the trailing nobility took their seats. She smiled, and the room grew quiet, and Chichiri could feel hundreds of eyes trained on him, making him nervous.

"This is a day we have long awaited my people." The woman spoke in a clear warm voice. "The Shiseiji has at long last arrived." She gestured to Chichiri. "Chichiri-sama." Whatever she might have said was drowned out by voluminous clapping that filled the room with a sound much like pouring rain. She waited until it died, then spoke up again. "Long have we awaited for the one who is to fill the prophecy, and now that the day has come, we the First race shall finally regain the position that we deserve." More voluminous clapping. "From hence forth we shall live in glory and triumph, as is intended of the First race!" Everyone stood up at that and clapped repeatedly, cheering, hooting, and whistling in ecstasy.

As he sat there, Chichiri wondered to himself how full of themselves they were… He didn't like the way things were progressing…. It would seem to him that if he was part of both races, he should try and bring them together, not isolate them further. But yet, they wanted isolation it appeared…. from one who would be isolated from they themselves. How ironic.

After the applause had died down, the woman smiled at him. "Please, would you like to speak to us Shiseiji?" Her voice was proud and hopeful, wishing for him to give them a sense the pride they looked for.

He thought softly to himself, then slowly rose to his feet and turned around. Wherever he gazed, he saw women who were alike….. all light of hair and skin, with pure white wings…. It was unreal to him, and he thought of how he himself looked and wondered how they viewed him….He stood there silently, with his hands folded behind his back under his black wings. Finally he cleared his throat. "I must admit I'm not sure what you expect of me no da…." He closed his eye and then glanced up at all of them, taking in the room and it's occupants. "I have no idea what's expected of me, no idea how I'm to achieve it, no idea what this world and it's peoples are like other from what I've seen so far no da." He saw that the Tenshi were beginning to frown slightly, looking puzzled. They'd expected he'd know what to do, he realized. "But I'm willing to help, to do what I can to help you out no da." He glanced around and saw they were looking more reassured. "But I do have to admit this will be hard for me to adjust to no da. I don't know your culture, I don't know your ways, I don't know this world no da. But I'll learn no da." And with that he sat down again on the pillow, not feeling to confidant inside, though he seemed to show it outside.

Unanimous applause followed his small speech, and he felt a blush rise to his cheeks as his eyes shifted to a yellow color showing his uneasiness. How could he lead these people to what they desired? And there was another thing that bothered him….. if he was supposed to be the 'savior' of their people, why did they constantly call him the Shiseiji, which literally meant the bastard child?

The woman smiled slightly. "Well, our people are honored and grateful at your arrival, Shiseiji." He nodded slightly. "It is of course our pleasure to be at your service." She clapped her hands together sharply. "Now, you must be tired." Several women that appeared to be servants arrived and bowed before her. "Please take our honored guest to his chambers and make him comfortable in any way you see fit."

The women bowed and turned to him. He stood up slowly, and then they escorted him out of the receiving hall. He followed them through the elaborate halls in the palace, winding their way through room and passage after passage. Finally, as if it seemed they would never end, they arrived at a large set of double doors, high up in the palace. The women opened the doors and led him inside.

His breath was taken away by the sight. Before him was the most astonishing layout for a room he'd seen in his life. In the center of the room was an enormous water environment. A waterfall was built into the side of the room out of rocks, the water cascading down with the sun sheeting down from a skylight and making a rainbow. A gentle breeze blew the ferns and plants all around it, and rippled the pool's water slightly. To the side overlooking a spectacular view of the ocean and Cliffside, was a bed that was gigantic…. It was hollowed out of a tree trunk, it's branches spreading wide above and touching the high ceiling. There was a large cage standing in the corner with birds of every color, breed and size. They sang brightly and merrily, tunes drifting through the room and filling it with sweet melodies. He stood there taking it in, watching the breeze blow the sheer curtains in rippling waves from the open doors to the balcony.

He heard a door shut, and glanced back. The ladies had left him alone. He sighed and crossed his arms, taking the whole scene in. He barely knew what to do or say….It took his breath away. He slowly strode across the floor to the open balcony doors and stepped outside. It was warm and pleasant. The breeze ruffled his black feathers softly, and brushed his bangs back. He leaned on the balcony, staring down at the wide aqua expanse of ocean that spread out beneath him like a carpet. As far as the eye could see…. Nothing but endless blue. He sighed softly and closed his eyes, breathing in the tangy salty air and letting the soothing sound of the far away waves crashing against the rocks below soothe him.

He had no idea how much time had passed, but he heard a noise, and turned his head. A young Tenshi girl was standing at the open doors, possibly no older than 6. She had her head bowed, her light blue hair blowing loosely across her face. She wore a simple robe, and her standing position was stiff and rigid. "Shiseiji-sama, I am your personal attendant." The young girl piped.

He turned fully around and stared at her. Then, something drew his eye. Her wings…. He could see that they were very small, and they seemed slightly deformed. He felt his heart go out to her…. He smiled and knelt down to her level, making her tense slightly. "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you no da." He offered a hand to her. "You don't have to be so formal around me no da. Please, call me Chichiri no da."

She seemed surprised by that, and her bright green eyes lifted to his sparkling blue ones. He could see honest surprise and awe in those emerald depths, and he smiled warmer at her. "Please, would you tell me your name no da?"

She looked hesitant. Then she stuttered softly. "Um… I'm… I'm Kaira."

"Kaira, that's a beautiful name na no da." He praised with a bright smile.

She tentatively smiled back at him, her face lighting up a bit. "You think so?"

He nodded. "Most definitely na no da!"

That brought a wider smile from the shy girl, and she looked down, but her face still glowed. That made his heart swell. "So, why are you here Kaira na no da?"

She shuffled her feet. "I'm your personal attendant Chichiri-sama."

"Chichiri. You don't have to call me Chichiri-sama." She looked up at him with wide green eyes. He smiled again. "So what do personal attendants do no da?"

She blinked. "Whatever the lord we serve wishes."

That made his mind darken. ~Slaves~ He thought bitterly in anger. ~They keep slaves~ He closed his eye then smiled and looked at her again. "Well then, why don't you join me here no da." He gently led her to the railing, then gripped her beneath her arms and lifted her up so she could sit on the railing. She tensed a bit, but didn't protest. He smiled. "What do you think of the view no da?"

She stared out wordlessly, and he could tell she wasn't used to being treated with kindness. Finally she spoke. "It's beautiful."

He nodded. "Hai, I think so as well no da." He leaned against the railing and smiled as he gazed at the scenery. "I've never seen anything like it before no da. You certainly have a beautiful place in your world no da." She smiled slightly and nodded wordlessly. He squeezed her shoulder gently. "I want to be your friend Kaira. You don't have to be afraid to say things around me no da. Please, feel free to say whatever you want no da." His voice was warm and soothing, and he saw her wide green eyes twinkle up at him hopefully. He wondered if he was the first person to treat her kindly in her lifetime….

She leaned back against him and looked up with wide eyes. "I can?" He nodded reassuringly. She turned her gaze to his wings with sparkling eyes. "I've never seen black ones…" She said reaching out, then pulling back hesitantly.

He smiled and turned her around on the railing, then opened his wings and took her hand and placed it on them. "Go ahead no da."

She touched them with an almost reverent look. He smiled at seeing the wonder on her young face. It warmed a special place in his heart to see a child like this so amazed by simple things. She stroked the silky feathers and smiled up at him with shining eyes. "They're so soft…." She looked down. "Mine are ugly."

Chichiri shook his head and hugged her gently. "No they're not! They're special in their own way! Everyone is special in different ways no da. And I think you're a very special person no da!"

He felt dampness against his chest, and he glanced down to see tears trickling down her small rosy cheeks. He knelt down to her level and wiped them away carefully, gazing up into her eyes with his purple-blue one. "What's the matter Kaira no da?" He said gently, a gentle look on his face of sympathy.

She lifted her wet eyes to his. "I…. I always wanted to know what it was like…. To… to fly.." She whispered.

A sudden understanding and realization came to him. He smiled to himself and gathered her up in his arms, startling her as she clutched tightly to him. He then stood on the balcony and leapt off of it, into the air above the seaside cliffs. She gasped and clung to him tightly in fear, squeezing her eyes shut. He chuckled softly. "Open your eyes Kaira no da! Look how beautiful it is from up here no da."

She slowly opened her eyes, their green depths wide and frightened. She looked around, and the fear turned to marvel as they dove up into the clouds. She reached out with a hand to touch them, and was amazed that the clouds slipped through her fingers like mist. She looked up at him, wide eyes open in wonder. "Sugoi…."

He laughed and pumped his wings harder, and they shot above the clouds with a sudden explosion, making the clouds around them scatter aside for their departure. The sun shone down on them, bouncing off of the clouds like bright glowing spots of illumination. His wings shone in iridescence as they skimmed over the clouds, diving through and up and down again. She was soon laughing in bright laughter and he was smiling widely in happiness. Then he got an idea. He gently took her firmly around the waist, and her eyes glinted up at him curiously. "Now, spread your wings and arms no da." He whispered in her ear. He then gripped her firmly by the waist and held her out below him. She spread her wings and her arms and gasped as she saw the clouds skim away beneath her faster than she could see them. She made a small effort to move her wings, and then laughed brightly in joy. She was flying.

They broke out over the clouds suddenly, finding a tall cliffside beneath them with a long river up ahead. Grinning to himself, he swung down close to the river, and let her trace the water as they skimmed barely inches above it. She giggled and splashed him, and he laughed in return. Then, the edge of the falls came into view, and he let her go. She gasped in pleasure at seeing the land fall out beneath her, and he followed her closely as she began to slowly fall downwards, then he swung underneath her and caught her on his back. She giggled and hugged him tightly. "Wai wai wai~!"

He smiled and they soared back towards he palace. By the time they arrived, she had fallen into a soft slumber in his arms. He alight carefully on the balcony, and gently walked back into the room. He held her carefully in his arms, and laid her down in his gigantic bed, gently tucking the covers around her. He watched her sleep with a smile painted on her face, and smiled to himself.

He sighed softly and walked over to the wardrobe and opened it. There was a wide variety of garments there for him, different from the typical Tenshi style. They must have adjusted to my build, he thought. He stripped and put his dirty clothes in the basket provided, and then stepped into the pool. He nearly shivered with surprise to find the water warm. It was just the right temperature, and he sank in with a small sigh. He lowered himself under to the waterfall and stood there, the water pouring and cascading around his shoulders and wings. He smiled to himself and thought about what he would be doing as the supposed savior of the peoples. His thoughts drifted back to Kaira, and he glimpsed over at her still sleeping soundly. How could they make a small girl like her be a slave….. just because her wings were deformed? It wasn't right. He closed his eye and sunk back down into the water submerging his wings. He hadn't really had time to sort things out in his mind… 


	8. Chapter 8

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Problems_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>"Lookin purty comfy there ain't we?"<p>

Chichiri's head jerked up in shock and he jumped to his feet alarmed at the sudden voice.

"I'd stay put if I were you pal."

He stopped, seeing the strange stick of some sort pointed directly at him threatening by a person who appeared to be entirely human. He smirked and shook the odd stick quietly, while three others walked around the back of the pool and began surrounding him. "I'd think twice before you move or you might not live to regret it pal." The green haired man wore all black, and a smirk that made Tasuki's seem like a childish attempt. "You see, we have no qualms about killing you…. We still reach our goal, dead or alive ya know."

Chichiri glanced at the others who had similar weapons pointed at him. They seemed to be some sort of magical energy rod, glowing with a blue light. "What do you want from me no da?" He asked quietly.

The green haired man laughed a merry boisterous laugh. "Well well, aren't we the cocky one?" He smirked. "I like that. Just for that, I'll answer your question." He slowly strode over to the edge of the pool and knelt down testing the water. "Because….. you're a liability."

Chichiri frowned slightly. "Liability?"

The man looked up at him, his ruby red eyes hard as stone. "You're something both sides want. If you're out of the picture, we can be heard."

Chichiri felt his heart clench tightly in his chest. "That can't be the only way to get the end result no da."

The green haired man smiled almost warmly. "No? But it's effective." He then looked coldly at Chichiri. "Plus, they'll be willing to give us whatever we want for you, since you can't be damaged for them." He stood up and gestured with his stick. "Out. Move it."

Chichiri slowly walked forward and stepped out of the pool, keeping his hands where the man could see them. The four people kept their weapons trained on him, and he kept his eye on them as well. "Can I at least put something decent on no da?" He asked quietly.

The man chuckled and walked to the wardrobe, pulled out a pair of leather pants and threw them at him. "You don't got anything to hide there pal… what're you worried about?" he said quietly staring at Chichiri. "Shit….. if that ain't the oddest thing I've seen…" He shrugged. "Hurry it up, we're low on time."

Chichiri pulled the pants on quickly, his face burning bright. That was one of the things that had come as a complete shock the first day….. and it was still embarrassing.

Of course, being the exact wrong moment for this to happen, Kaira stirred and sat up sleepily. "Chichiri-sama?" She asked quietly, rubbing her eyes tiredly, and they promptly widened at seeing one of the rods pointed at her. Her mouth opened to scream, but a man grabbed her from behind and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"What should we do with this?" He asked looking down. "Kill her?"

Chichiri took a step forward. "No…." but one of the rods in his face stopped him. He glanced at the green haired man. "Please, she's just a child….." He said quietly, his eyes a soft green color. "Don't hurt her."

The green haired man glanced at the young child, her green eyes wide in terror and nodded curtly to the man. "Let her go."

The man released her, and she ran and threw herself against Chichiri, hugging him tightly for protection. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her gently. "Thank you. " he said quietly to the man.

The green haired man nodded slightly. "Yeah, well we ain't murderers even though we're outcasts." He gestured towards a small glowing portal that had opened up on the wall, a soft green light. "Come on, let's go now."

Chichiri glanced at them warily, but seeing as he had the lower end of the stick, he didn't protest as they herded him towards the portal. Kaira was whimpering softly, hugging him tightly as he picked her up and hoisted her onto his hip. As they paused before the portal, he felt someone roughly grab his wings from behind, and he gave a muffled sound of slight pain as they tightly bound them together. The green haired man shrugged. "Sorry bout that…. For safety reasons you know."

Chichiri nodded slightly in understanding, but it still hurt quite a bit…. The cords they used were biting into his skin deeply, cutting off his circulation, but he didn't complain. He slowly walked through the green portal following the man, and felt Kaira clutch him tighter as they stepped out into a rocky barren area in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere. He looked around, to see dark rocks all around. Some sort of Onyx, he thought as he looked up to the snow capped black mountains. Kaira looked around hesitantly, fear on her face and in her wide green eyes.

The green haired man led the way, and the others shoved him forward, and Chichiri began walking up the mountain path. He kept feeling sharp rocks cutting the soles of his bare feet, and wince as he kept up with them. He glanced around at the dark atmosphere, wondering at the surroundings. It was cloudy, dark, threatening. They seemed to be high in the mountains, for the air was thin. Kaira whimpered against his chest. "What's going to happen Chichiri-sama?"

"I don't know no da….. I don't know." He whispered back to her in her ear. "It'll be ok though no da." He hugged her as they continued to wind up the slope.

Finally, they reached the peak of the path, where they turned off to the side and headed towards a large dark cave cut into the blackness of the hill. The men and women held their glow sticks above their heads, and it illuminated their path as they headed into the cave. He stumbled a bit as they passed over uneven ground, and nearly fell, but he felt a hand at his shoulder supporting him, and glanced to see the dim face of the green haired man helping him. He smiled lightly in gratitude, and the green haired man nodded curtly before continuing onwards throughout the dark corridors.

Finally, they reached a narrower part of the cavern passage, and he peered ahead, slightly astonished that he himself could see excellently in the darkness as if it were broad daylight. It must be an extra sense I've developed, he thought to himself. Ahead of them was a dark hole, and as they approached, he saw that it was a steep narrow staircase leading downwards. They stopped in front of it then, and the green haired man turned to face him. "It's narrow here, so the girl will have to walk herself, and you may have to turn sideways to fit." He glanced aside to peer at the passage. "It's a tight squeeze for us, and you're broader shouldered and broader built." He glanced at Chichiri. "Hopefully you'll fit so we don't have to kill you."

Chichiri smiled lightly. "What a cheery thought na no da." He set Kaira down, and she clutched his hand tightly, not wanting to separate from him. He squeezed her hand lightly to reassure her, then followed the others as they began their descent downwards.

He gently pushed Kaira forwards ahead of him, and she tentatively stepped into the stairwell and began walking down. He followed suit, squeezing himself sideways since he was too broad shouldered to fit, but then his wings didn't fit since they were pinned together behind him. He backed out again, and the others stopped to ponder the situation. The green haired man frowned. "Well…. We could cut em off…."

Chichiri felt a twinge of fear at that. "Let….let me try something first no da." He said quickly. He concentrated on his ki, and focused. He felt a warm glow inside, much like when he used his seishi power, and he concentrated on his inner strength. A soft glow began to form around him, making the others point their weapons at him, but it faded as quickly as it came, and he stood there just the same as before, but without his wings.

The green haired man looked impressed. "Well, that's one way to fix it…." He grinned. "That's one thing I envy about you people….. you can do magic like that." He shook his head, and turned back. "Let's go then." And he lead the way down the stairwell.

Chichiri gently maneuvered Kaira ahead of him, and then turned sideways, and found it was much easier to maneuver the stairs this way. They began a long descent, that made him slightly dizzy as they continued in a circle, around and around, down further and further. It seemed to go on forever, virtually pitch dark blackness. Chichiri felt relieved that he wasn't entirely claustrophobic, but being in such close quarters thinking how much rock was above him, made him uneasy.

And it didn't stop…. They didn't talk, or make any other noise as they continued downwards, and the silence became stifling, heavy, and oppressive. He felt stifled, as if something was crushing his lungs, as the air got thicker and warmer the further down they went.

Eventually, it seemed hours later, the stairs began to slowly widen out, and he could walk down them normally now. Kaira clutched his hand tightly now and walked close to him, and he put a gentle hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

Then abruptly, the stairs opened up wide, and ended on top of a high cliff, over looking the most enormous underground cavern Chichiri had ever laid eyes on. He stood there in stunned shock. The entire capitol of Konan could fit easily in there, with room to spare. The cavern had enormous stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and there was an underground waterfall falling down beneath their feet from a hole in the cavern several hundred meters below them. The cavern then fell out beneath them, wide and spreading outwards so far that a small layer of mist covered the far reaches of his vision.

Below on the floor, was an enormous city spread out. Houses, buildings, people walking around, markets, farm fields, ranches… everything needed to sustain the people dwelling there. Chichiri was amazed and astonished… there was some artificial light from the stalactites, almost as bright as the sun itself….. he couldn't figure them out.

The green haired man stood beside him. "Quite a view eh?" He asked quietly. "Not any of your people have ever gotten to see it you know." He added with a small glance at him. "They don't even know we exist…. They've driven us this deep to hide from them, and they forgot about us." His voice was tart and angry, but he didn't seem to direct it towards Chichiri specifically, but towards what he represented.

Chichiri nodded slightly and glanced out across it. "What happened?"

The green haired man stared at him in surprise. "What do you mean what happened? It's in all the history books…. You surely have read about it at least." He looked insulted and angry that Chichiri didn't know about their history.

Chichiri shook his head and looked directly into his eyes. "I wasn't raised in this world no da."

All the others then turned and stared at him in surprise. "What?" The green haired man asked. "What do you mean by that?"

Chichiri felt Kaira's hands hug him tighter at the raised voices, so he calmly replied. "I was raised in another world, then just brought here today no da." He looked levelly at them. "I just discovered what I truly was yesterday no da."

They stared at him in shock. "What you were? What were you before then?"

"Human." Chichiri said simply.

They stared at him in shock. "What? No way…" The green haired man murmured in astonishment. "You mean to tell us that you were one of us? And you never knew that you were a…. a…." He narrowed his eyes. "Are you a Tenshi or an Akurei?"

Chichiri smiled slightly. "Both no da."

Now it looked like he'd really thrown them the loop. "Both?" the green haired man hissed in disbelief. "But the two races hate each other! They would never mate with each other!"

Chichiri shrugged. "Apparently some didn't believe so." He said quietly, a look of sadness in his eye. "Obviously I'm here."

The green haired man glanced curiously at him, sensing a change of tone in his voice, and noted the sad look. "You just found out yesterday? And just got here today?" He asked quietly. "God…. You must have had quite a shock for transitions."

Chichiri nodded wordlessly, feeling a lump begin to form in his throat.

The green haired man shook his head in sympathy. "Sorry bout this. But it was my orders after all." He shrugged and then gestured. "Let's go." He began the long descent down a narrow trail on the side of the mountain. Chichiri followed, his mind in a confused whirl of thoughts, and Kaira trotted next to him, stumbling a little. He stopped and picked her up in his arms, and carried her instead, and she leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes tiredly. 


	9. Chapter 9

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Innuendo_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>They wound down and down, and by now his feet were cut and bleeding from walking over sharp rocks. He couldn't keep from looking around in fascinated awe at the enormous cavern. Finally, they reached the cavern floor, and headed down the road towards the city. Before long they were winding through it, occasional people giving them strange glances, mostly to the sleeping child in his arms since her wings were visible and his were still hidden inside him. He hadn't bothered to bring them back out since he didn't need them here. He didn't want to risk being attacked.<p>

They wound their way through the people, and he discovered that they didn't seem all too different from his own, that is, where he'd grown up. After passing through the main city, they arrived at some stone gates with high wooden stakes and some guards in front of it. They nodded curtly to their party, and they passed through. The green haired man took them straight through the front doors to the building inside the gates, and they continued through a long passage, then arrived in a huge courtyard where a very elaborately carved stone house, and several clean buildings were arranged. Chichiri supposed that this place was the court or royalty.

They stopped in the center of the courtyard where several ladies wearing nice gowns resided, and the green haired man bowed eloquently to them. "Evening ladies, how fare thee?" He said in a suave voice, making them giggle and titter among themselves.

"Ah Sou, you're just too much of a gentleman!" One woman laughed boldly, winking at him.

He laughed heartily. "Well forgive me ladies for being a good looking guy."

One lady was eyeing Chichiri with a gleam in her eyes. "And who's this stud?" She sidled up to Chichiri and draped an arm around his shoulders. "My, what dark skin you have my dear."

He swallowed slightly in uneasiness, and the green haired man rolled his eyes and took her arm and led her away from him. "He's an upsider."

All the ladies eyes widened and their mouths opened in surprise. "An Upsider?" One whispered in shock. "But…."

Another woman peered at him, then glanced at the child in his arms. "That's a Tenshi isn't it?" She said pointing with a look of disgust on her face. "Why did you bring it down here?"

Sou shook his head. "She just happened to be in the way and came with us." He bowed to the ladies. "Now if you'll excuse us, we must be taking the prisoner to the minister."

The ladies nodded and giggled at each other, then allowed the group to pass. They entered the fancy building, and he spoke some quick words to a guard, who then nodded and led them inside. They were brought to a large room with a gathered assembly there, many many people seated around in a courtroom style position, and three people kneeling with their hands tied in front of a panel of people.

"So you three still deny committing this act of murder after the evidence has been presented to the jury and audience?" Questioned a middle aged heavy man in the center of the panel.

One man nodded vehemently. "I swear that we have NOT committed this act! We've explained our case and you still refuse to believe us! We're being framed! We're not murderers!"

The others nodded in agreement, voicing their own opinions.

There was various murmuring through the room, and Chichiri and his party waited back by the doors quietly, listening and watching the on-goings.

The panel leaned back and discussed among themselves in hushed voices, then turned back with impassive expressions. "We have decided that you are to be imprisoned in the dungeons until such time when we believe you have repented your deeds and are in no more position to harm the public. If that does not occur within one months time, then you shall be executed via the pit." The middle man said solemnly.

The three men immediately jumped to their feet, and began screaming in shock and refusal, and some guards approached and led them away as they continued to scream protests loudly.

Chichiri watched them go with a saddened heart. They had been innocent, he had felt it in their ki. They were adamantly refusing the panel and were truthful and passionate about their defense. He felt sadness flood him. Such things unfortunately were unfair in the world….

He felt a light shove, and he stepped forward as their party made their way up to the dais where the men had been, then proceeded to kneel. He did as well, still holding Kaira who was fast asleep in his arms.

The panel and the others in the room turned their attention to the party. "Sou. Good to see you have returned." Said the heavy man in the center with a smile. "Was the mission successful?" He questioned, throwing a glance at Chichiri curiously.

"Yes Minister, the mission was successful." He replied. "This is the one they call the Shiseiji from the topworld." He said gesturing at Chichiri.

Chichiri felt everyone's eyes lock onto him, and he wanted to sink down into the floor. They were staring at him with awe, disgust, and apprehension. The Minister frowned and peered at him curiously. "What's so special about it? Looks almost human to me." He said with a harumph.

Chichiri could feel Sou's anger that was kept in tight control inside of him as he responded coolly. "This is Chichiri, Minister. He is the child of the mating between an Akurei and a Tenshi."

The minute those words were out, the courtroom exploded into a loud roar as everyone began talking at once, shouting, standing up in shock, and excitedly peering at him. Chichiri kept his eye lowered so he didn't have to blush as much as he was already. He hated all this attention. And what was worse was, it seemed to be negative attention, given the glare the minister was giving him.

The Minister raised his hands for silence, shouting in the noisy room for order, and it took several long minutes for the spectators to finally sit back down and calm down. Then the Minister glanced at Chichiri. "Akurei and Tenshi huh? Where are it's wings then? Aren't the Akurei and Tenshi supposed to be winged creatures?"

Chichiri felt his cheeks burning in humiliation, and his eye had changed to a blood red color as he tried to contain his anger at being treated like an animal. He could tell Sou was angry as well as he spoke back evenly. "Yes sir, he withdrew his wings in order to travel here and not draw attention in the city."

The Minister nodded slightly. "Ah. Have it show it's wings then." He demanded. "I want to see if the legends are true."

Chichiri felt his anger grow, but luckily due to his training he could hold it in. He caught Sou's glance back at him and nodded in agreement. He then slowly stood up, not jostling Kaira in his arms, and closed his eye and focused his ki, and there was a soft white glow around him, and his wings burst from his back and extended high towards the ceiling and then relaxed around him, large black silky forms of darkness.

The courtroom was filled with awed murmurs and people leaning forward to see, and the Minister himself walked down and began to strut around Chichiri, examining him. He reached out and grabbed one of the monk's wings harshly, and poked and prodded at it. Chichiri bit his lip but didn't protest, knowing he had very little say, and that it was best to bide his time. The Minister plucked a feather, and that's when he winced and yanked his wings from the Minister's hand and whirled to face him, his crimson eye flashing dangerously. "There is only so much I can tolerate with your derogatory behavior towards me no da." He snapped before he could stop himself. "What if I was to start plucking strands of your hair out? That would hurt just as much as taking…" He snatched his feather back. "…these!"

The Minister was staring at him openmouthed in astonishment, the possibility that Chichiri was sentient obviously not having crossed his mind. He blinked once, then glanced at Sou. "Will you restrain this creature for me?" He said in a low voice, with narrowed eyes.

Sou looked as if he wanted to say something against the Minister, but he instead thought better of it and motioned to the guards who removed Kaira from Chichiri's arms and held him tightly in custody.

The Minister walked up to Chichiri and looked up at him appraisingly with dangerous eyes. "Well well, we have a feisty bastard here with us now don't we?" He smirked and pulled something from his robe….

Chichiri gritted his teeth as he knew what the Minister intended to do. "You punish me for defending myself in a position of which I have no knowledge of, no background in, or any understanding of the feuds that go on between your people and the Tenshi and Akurei." He kept a narrow gaze at the Minister feeling his anger build up. "You convict any whom you find distasteful, is that it? Those three men before me were innocent, their ki spoke of it and their words and feelings were truthful. Yet you convicted them of a crime to which they are innocent." He saw the Minister's anger grow, and yet this didn't stop him. "You don't even wish to hear the other side of the story or acknowledge it's existence. You don't care to listen to what I have to say, what they have to say." He stood tall and firm despite the Minister's advancements toward him with a dangerous look in his eyes. "I have no part in your feud with the other races, I know nothing of it, and yet you hold me responsible for the acts of two entire races." Chichiri's words were cut short as the Minister brought his whip down lashing harshly across the mage's face and Chichiri gasped silently in pain as the fiery leather cut into his skin and he felt blood run down his face.

"What an idiotic vain creature you are." The Minister said with a smirk. "You represent all of our hatred in both races. You are a bastard child that isn't wanted by any race. Why should we treat you like a person?" He brought the whip down again across Chichiri's back, then again, and again, and again, his eyes shining with glee at each strike that brought blood to the mage's flesh. "You deserve to suffer for what we have suffered." He bellowed as the others in the room began cheering him on as he continued to strike him again and again. With each blow, the crowd cheered more, their own hatred and anger urging the Minister on. Sou watched silently from the side, quiet fury on his face, but not daring to speak realizing he would get the same fate.

Chichiri knelt on the floor, his eye closed in concentration on anything other than the searing pain running through his body with each blow. Kaira had awoken and was watching from the side where she was being contained by two guards with wide green horror-struck eyes. Small whimpers came from her as small tears ran down her cheeks.

Sou watched with glazed eyes as the Minister struck Chichiri again and again. Then, something seemed to snap inside of him. As the Minister raised again, his hand snaked out and snatched the whip before it could strike again. Chichiri's eye lifted to see Sou glaring darkly into the astonished Minister's eyes with anger rampid on his face. "Yamete." He said in a low voice. "Right now."

The room had fallen silent, and Chichiri was holding his breath as he lifted a hand to compress the bleeding on his face. The Minister looked at Sou levelly, daggers flying from his eyes. "What do you think you are doing Sou." He asked in a very low quite voice that was a strong premonition of danger.

Sou tore the whip from the Minister's grasp and moved in front of Chichiri, drawing his sword. "I'm sick of the racism, the hatred, the prejudice for those who are innocent!" He said in a loud firm voice. "He just found out what he was yesterday! He knows nothing about either race, nor how we were treated. Yet you hold him responsible for the actions of those who were his distant ancestors from hundreds of years ago!" He snapped and threw the whip down at the Minister's feet. "I will not tolerate this kind of abuse any longer, I've stood silent, now it is time to speak out." He lowered his head to look directly at the Minister. "I would hope you understand where I am coming from." He spoke in a very low voice.

The minister looked directly at him with an amused glance. "Are you challenging my authority?"

Sou's eyes narrowed and there was a swift sharp movement from him, and the minister's eyes bulged in sudden shock. "I'm eliminating the cause of the corruption." He said quietly, a calm look on his face. The Minister gave one muffled groan, and glanced once at Chichiri and Kaira who was kneeling by him, hugging him tightly, and he slumped to the floor, Sou's dagger still buried in his gut.

There was absolute silence in the hall, no one moved, no one spoke, no one breathed. It was as deathly still as a courtyard as everyone absorbed the event. Then, the silence was broken by a muffled sob from Kaira, and Chichiri wrapping his arms around her and shhing her gently, rocking back and forth on his knees to comfort her. Finally, people began stirring, rustling uncertainly, looking at each other with puzzled glances, no one speaking still. The guards seemed uncertain about what to do, and hesitated where they stood, not wanting to approach Sou for fear of meeting the same fate as the Minister had. Sou then turned to face the crowd, then turned to Chichiri. He knelt down by the uncertain monk and looked at him with concern. "Are you all right?"

Chichiri nodded slowly and glanced at the Minister's body. "You…didn't have to kill him no da." He said with great sadness in his voice that carried into the hall to the watching spectators.

Sou shook his head. "There you are wrong. He has been leading our people to believe that the Tenshi and Akurei are pure evil, teaching us to hate, to abhor, to rebel against them. I realized a short time ago how it was when I…." He trailed off slowly, and Chichiri was the only one who caught the furtive reddening of his cheeks as he stood up quickly.

"Listen, all of you." Sou said in a loud firm voice. "What we have been taught, what we have learned, what we know about the other races is pure evil. We should not hate them, what their ancestors did hundreds of years ago does not hold on their shoulders. To treat innocent people like this," He helped Chichiri stand to his feet, and the monk stood there uncertainly, still holding Kaira to him as she cried against his chest. "It is horrendous and cruel." He threw his sword down and looked around at them all. "This man," He put his hand on Chichiri's shoulder. "Is what the Akurei and Tenshi call the Shiseiji. He is the one they believe will lead them to peace and end the feuds." He glanced at Chichiri who was looking uncertain. "To quote from their legends, "~"Thus, born of nobility, dark and light, soul and body, love and hate, courage and fear, white and black, yin and yang, shall the savior of the two races arise. He shall unbind the ties and re-forge destiny, and thus shall the rings of the moon be merged.~" He looked around to see what everyone was reacting to, and saw mixed expressions, some doubt, hostility, fear, and uncertainty, but along with that there was hope, understanding, and thought. "Now if we all work together, plan what we might do, perhaps we can reach an arrangement with the two races and put an end to this hiding, this hostility, and finally live the dream we've all wanted… to live above ground."

Chichiri glanced around at the people, seeing the same reactions they did. He realized that perhaps many if not most of them, had held these views inside themselves, but only been afraid to voice them. He took a slow step forward and everyone's eyes turned to him sharply, some with hatred still, others with pity, and the rest with confusion. "I can't say I entirely understand what has been going on between your three peoples…." He said quietly still hugging Kaira to him. "But if there's anything I dislike more, it's warring with people." He took a deep breath. "I've had too many close friends die in wars, and I refuse to stand by and do nothing when I can do something." He straightened up, and his eye turned a light silver color suddenly, and there was a soft glow from around him which made other people gasp in slight surprise. He didn't' seem to notice himself, but continued talking. "I would like to help you end this feud, if you would let me. But in order to do that, you have to overcome your own faults just as I must overcome mine." The light had grown more intense, and then just as quickly, it seemed to absorb into him, and he underwent a strange transformation. His entire body lightened, that was to say, his skin turned pale, his wings changed to white, and his hair turned a soft silver color. His eye was a bright crystal blue now, and looked out calmly into the audience. He also had a more feminine look to him, which made him have a quiet calm quality about him. "It will get better…." He said softly, a smooth and soothing voice.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Aquaintances_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>Everyone in the hall was staring at him with open eyes and mouths, not sure what to say or think. He glanced around at them, then turned to Sou and smiled warmly at him. "I think you might consider making this man your temporary leader for now. He is rational and intelligent, and has a firm grip of the way the world works." He glanced down at Kaira, who was still clutching him tightly, her cheeks smeared with his blood with still ran down his cheeks and beaten back. "If we try, we can obtain peace for all three peoples." And with that note, he stood back still cradling Kaira in his arms and stroking her forehead to ease her sobs. Sou stared at him for a moment, then cleared his throat uncertainly. "Well….. I claim no authority. However, we do need a ruler who is just and fair, unlike our former Minister." He glanced around. "If anyone would like to nominate someone?"<p>

There was murmuring throughout the hall as people discussed it among themselves, and they waited on the floor for the bustle to die down, and a few people stood up in the audience, requesting attention. "Ano…." One man said slowly. "I think perhaps that the best person for the job would be Sou…." He swallowed. "It is true what he says about corruption, and I think it is time for it to end." He sat down quickly, and some clapping followed his speech.

A woman spoke next. "He is a murderer, traitor, and sympathizer for those monsters. I think he should pay for his crimes as all criminal should." She hissed vehemently. "And that creature of his should burn in hell for all eternity." She sat down harshly, and a few heads nodded in approval.

There were more speaking, in favor, against favor, and then one stood up. "I know this may sound crazy, but I think that…. Er…." He fumbled. "the Shiseihi should lead us forward, and we can settle the ruling issue later. After all, isn't that his job?" There was an uncertain surprised silence from the people, and eyes glanced at Chichiri questioningly.

Chichiri shook his head. "If my job is to lead you forward to the road to recovery, that's what I shall do. I'm no born leading ruler. I wouldn't be able to do that. I'm not a diplomat. But what I can do is advise and direct through suggestions and advice, which is what I grew up doing anyway." He glanced at Sou with an amused glance. "Ironic, no matter where I am, my role stays the same no da."

Sou nodded in agreement, though he had no idea what the monk was talking about. "Perhaps that would be the best route…..to discuss it with a panel of representatives making a council to help decide." There was almost unanimous nodding to his suggestion, and some people even stood to indicate their support. Sou nodded and sighed in relief and turned to Chichiri as the room began to disperse. "Are you sure you're ok….?" He asked concerned. "You…. Changed."

Chichiri glanced down at himself with a sigh. "I know, and I feel strange as well…. I have no idea what triggered it no da." He shook his head. "This has been a very long day no da…." He sighed.

Sou took his arm and led him towards the door. "You should get those cuts tended, and get some rest and food. We'll discuss this more tomorrow I imagine, but I want to thank you…." He said softly with gratitude in his voice.

"For what no da?"

"You were the first person to ever speak out against the Minister like that…. I think that's what made the people more tolerant." He sighed shaking his head. "If you hadn't, they most likely would have mobbed us, and we wouldn't be talking on this earth anymore."

Chichiri nodded slowly. "I figured that was the case no da." He sighed and stumbled on the rough stone, and Sou supported him. "This way, we're going to the infirmary for you." He said firmly and steered Chichiri down a hallway past curious onlookers who gave them startled, puzzled, and hostile looks.

Chichiri nodded wordlessly shifting Kaira in his arms, as she had finally stopped sobbing and was just clutching him tightly. They entered the infirmary and sat Chichiri down on the bed and he put Kaira next to him and wiped some more blood from his face as it was getting in his eye and making a stark contrast against his pale looks.

There was a rustling from a side room and a muffled "be with you in a minute." And something fell to the ground and there was a terse curse. A young white cat came darting out of the room, and hid underneath the bed that Chichiri was sitting on, and Kaira immediately took a fancy to it and lay down on the bed, sticking her head upside down to look under the bed. "Hi there neko-chan!" She piped happily trying to pet it.

Chichiri shook his head in amusement, and there was a soft glow about him suddenly, and before he could blink, his coloring had shifted back to his darker shade, and his black wings. He blinked in slight surprise, and Sou and he exchanged puzzled glances.

Before they could question it however, the doctor came shuffling into the room, his arms full of books, and a small kid behind him, carrying scrolls as well. They walked over to the main table and set them down, the books then toppled over onto the ground and the scrolls scattered haphazardly. The tall doctor made an annoyed grunt, then turned around putting spectacles on. "Now, what can I help you with?" He rumbled in a deep baritone voice.

"Well, we need you to treat this man's injuries." Sou said putting a hand on Chichiri's shoulder. "Some pretty deep cuts and gashes." He grinned over at Chichiri about to ask him how he was doing, and his smile faded from his face as he saw the pale look on Chichiri's face. The monk was staring straight ahead, sightlessly, his mouth half opened and a stunned look on his face. "Oi!" He said in concern and shook Chichiri lightly. "What's wrong?"

The doctor came over to him and gently pushed Sou away, and then helped Chichiri to lie down. "He needs rest. It looks like he's in shock. I'll tend to him, no need to worry." And with that the doctor nodded to the child, and the boy began gathering some medicines from the shelves and brought them over to the doctor. He then began cleansing Chichiri's wounds, and then dressing them with the expertise of his status.

Sou watched from the side, glancing to see Kaira involved in playing with the cat, and waited until the doctor had finished, and he saw that Chichiri seemed to be asleep. Then he approached him. "Is he going to be all right?" He asked worriedly.

The doctor smiled encouragingly at him. "Of course, the wounds weren't infected, and he didn't become injured in any vital spots." He began washing his hands. "He'll heal up quite nicely, though he may have some permanent scar tissue in some places, not that he doesn't already." He finished his cleansing, and turned to face Sou. "What happened to him?"

Sou shook his head. "The Minister…."

The doctor seemed to grow angry at that. "The bastard should rot in hell…." He growled.

Sou looked surprised, then smiled lightly. "He's dead now."

The doctor looked at him in some surprise. "Truly? You?" Sou nodded. "Good for you boy!" He put a large hand on his shoulder. "Then perhaps we finally should gain the opportunity to change our lifestyle."

Sou nodded in agreement. The boy had finished organizing the table, and was standing by Chichiri's bed. "Um, what is he exactly?" He asked curiously. "I've never seen anything like him before."

Sou walked over to the bedside followed by the doctor and smiled at the boy. "Most likely not, he's the first of his kind." He nodded at Chichiri. "He's from the topworld, the child of an Akurei and Tenshi."

The boy looked up at him with surprised green eyes. "Really? Goodness…." He glanced down at Chichiri curiously. "I never would have thought…." He trailed off slowly then glanced up at the doctor curiously. "What should we do with him?"

The doctor shrugged. "Let him recover. He is a patient, and no different from any other." He walked away and began to mix some herbs into medication and the boy retreated into the other room for some reason or another. Sou remained by Chichiri's side, leaning casually against the wall, waiting for him to wake up.

Kaira was happily playing with the cat, never having seen such a creature before, and enjoying herself quite fully as she tickled the cat, petted it, and made it purr.

After some time, Chichiri's eye flickered once, then slowly opened. Sou leaned over him with a smile. "Hey pal, how ya doing?"

Chichiri smiled slightly, seeming disoriented. "Uh…. Fine no da…."

The doctor came over to the table smiling at him. "Good to hear that. You might be feeling slightly disoriented, the medicine makes you drowsy and woozy, but it will help you to heal faster."

Chichiri shifted his gaze to the doctor and frowned looking confused. "Disoriented…yeah but does it make you hallucinate na no da?"

The doctor frowned. "No, not supposed to…. Why?"

Chichiri shivered. "Because I'm seeing a ghost….."

The doctor and Sou glanced at each other curiously. "What do you mean by that?" Sou asked gently.

Chichiri swallowed, closed his eye, then opened it again looking up at the doctor. "Mitsukake…." He whispered in a soft low voice. "You're Mitsukake…."

The doctor frowned. "Who?"

Chichiri took a slow breath. "In my world…. You look like someone I knew…." His voice was shaking slightly. "He was a fellow seishi… but he died several years ago…." He trailed off looking upset.

The doctor put a hand on Chichiri's shoulder for comfort. "I see…. And I remind you of him?"

"More than that…. You look exactly like him, sound like him, and even are a doctor, like he was no da." He chuckled lightly. "And you have a white cat…..! I don't suppose his name is Tama…..?"

The doctor seemed surprised. "Actually….. yes."

Chichiri began laughing then, a low chuckle at first, then it rang out bright and sunny as small tears trickled down his cheek. The others smiled and then began chuckling themselves, finding the humor in the situation, and laughter being contagious. Finally, Chichiri managed to calm down and wiped the tears from his eye. "Well…. I'm not sure how it is…. Perhaps you're a reincarnation of him?"

The doctor shook his head. "I would have no idea about that….. I don't believe in reincarnations myself, but I suppose anything is possible." He held out a hand. "My name is Juan."

Chichiri took his hand with a wider smile. "Yes, I know. I'm Chichiri."

Juan nodded. "Pleasure is mine Chichiri-san."

Just then, the young boy came in and smiled. "Ah, he's awake!" He walked up and offered his hand. "You must be feeling better, I heard you all laughing out here."

Chichiri looked startled for a minute, then slowly took the boy's hand. "Yes….. better thank you no da…." He smiled down at him. "Good to see you again Chiriko."

The boy looked confused. "What?"

Chichiri shook his head. "Nothing…."

The boy looked confused, but shrugged. "Call me Doukun." He said brightly.

Chichiri nodded with a smile, all the time, many questions running throughout his head. "I must admit, this is way too uncanny for me to take calmly no da." He then began explaining everything to them, and they all listened intently to the story, occasionally asking questions. When he'd finished, he leaned back with a sigh. "And that's what happened up till all of this started no da….." He trailed off thoughtfully. "I wonder how Tasuki, Miaka, and Tamahome-kun are now…."

The others didn't know what to think about the whole story, but they did admit that it seemed too odd for it to just be coincidence. "It is possible," Doukun said quietly, " Or it could be that this is an alternate universe to yours, and we are alternates to the people you knew."

Chichiri nodded. "that's a reasonable explanation as well no da….. In that case then,…." He blinked. "Goodness….. It would be strange to meet myself then no da."

The others nodded. "I imagine so." Sou said shaking his head. "And I'm not familiar to you am I?" Chichiri shook his head slowly. "Thank God, that would be freaky."

Chichiri chuckled lightly, then glanced down at his bandages and suddenly, his eye shifted to silver again, and he closed it slowly half lidded, and a soft glow surrounded him, then faded, and when he opened his eye, it was back to blue. He blinked once in confusion, and scratched his head. "That was the most bizarre thing no da…."

They stared at him. "What happened?" Sou asked quietly.

Chichiri glanced down, then slowly untied one of the bandages, and they all saw that his wounds were gone. Completely. He seemed surprised. "I…. Guess I have a healing ability now…."

The others looked very surprised, and almost wary of him. "I've never actually seen magic at work…" Juan said softly. "I've read about how it can do wonders…. And destroy as well…"

Chichiri nodded and removed the other bandages slowly. "That it can no da." He said sadly. "It can be as destructive as it is good if misused no da. But there is great good to it if it is properly contained no da."

They nodded in agreement, then all fell silent as they didn't know what to say next. Chichiri glanced at Kaira and smiled to see her happily playing with Tama-neko. "So…" He said softly. "What are we going to do now no da?"

They exchanged glances uneasily. "Well…we should gather everyone who wants to be involved and come up with a plan I suppose….." Sou said slowly. "Though I'm not sure if we can agree on any one thing given most people's reactions."

Chichiri nodded slowly, then suddenly his eye widened. "Wait…. D'nari!" They looked at him curiously. "D'nari is one of the Akurei leaders, and he was a very decent guy when I met him no da." Chichiri explained. "I didn't have a too positive impression on the Tenshi representative, but I think D'nari might help us no da."

They nodded slowly. "Allying ourselves with the Akurei though? Wouldn't that just create problems with the Tenshi?"

"Not if we handle it right. We should perhaps bring everyone outside and make a camp, then send representatives to talk, or perhaps send representatives first no da."

Sou thought about that for a minute. "You know, that might work….. I….." He blushed suddenly very brightly. "I know someone who would help us out who's in the Akurei palace as well."

Chichiri smiled to himself, knowing what the man was hinting at. "That might be helpful no da. We can get into the palace, talk things out, and perhaps reach an arrangement for your peoples no da."

They nodded and Doukun put a finger up indicating an idea. "We should just send a few at first, since it's a long several days journey to the palace, and we can't afford a portal spell, and then perhaps make arrangements and then bring our people outside?"

Chichiri and Sou nodded, and Juan looked thoughtful. "Can you trust this D'nari though?"

Chichiri nodded. "Yes, he told me that he was against the racism and wanted to see peace between the races. He was very much more tolerant of me and the way I was raised than Aerith was no da." He sighed. "If there's anyone to risk with, it's him no da."

They nodded. "Do you think we should go without the council?" Sou asked.

Chichiri shook his head. "No, I think we should suggest it. If all else fails, I could go alone no da."

The looked doubtful, but reluctantly nodded in agreement. "So it's decided then." Sou said quietly. "Tomorrow I'll assemble the interested council members, and we'll discuss it." He smiled at Juan. "Thank you for your assistance."

"It's no trouble at all." He said warmly. "If you two would like to remain here for the night, you are welcome. I know you live far out in the city, and perhaps you might want to stay here in case something happens."

Sou nodded. "Thank you for your generosity." He said smiling.

Doukun stood up. "Then I'll ready a dinner!" And with that he headed off to the kitchen, and the others continued talking, exchanging ideas, pasts, and tales.

They talked late into the night, and retired to a peaceful sleep and rest, regaining their thoughts and wits, and restoring their energy. 


	11. Chapter 11

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Obsidian_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>Chichiri awoke slowly to the steady purring of a feline in his ear. He opened his eye, and glanced to see Tama-neko curled up on the pillow beside his head, half resting his kitty chin on Chichiri's shoulder. Chichiri smiled slightly, and glanced down to see Kaira curled up beside him as well, looking peaceful and content as she slept. He gently slipped out of the bed, tucked the young girl back in, and then walked over to the small window in the wall. It was morning he surmised by the number of people around outside bustling in their daily activity.<p>

He stretched his wings and yawned, feeling ten times better than he had the previous night. He sighed and walked into the main room, and silence reigned through the room. The others were still sleeping, and he assumed that he was the one who still hadn't adjusted to this world's time frame, therefore his system was disoriented. He sat down at the table and sighed quietly to himself, letting his mind wander. He'd had enough to think about to fill him for days on end. Not only with what had happened, but he knew he was going through a psychological change as well. He'd felt strange, different, and with this whole shifting personalities, which is what he assumed had happened when he became lighter skinned, he wasn't sure what to think. It was as if everything was peaceful, at ease, would work out and be easily solved when he was in that mode. He put a hand to his head and wondered what he was going to do about it all.

He was thinking about how nice it would be to stare at the countryside of Konan again, when he heard a low knocking on the window. His head jerked up and he glanced over. There was no one there…. He slowly stood up and walked over to the window and peered out, but saw nothing unusual, nor anyone near the area. Frowning, he slowly opened the door, and stepped outside onto the balcony. There was nothing there. He frowned and wondered if he'd imagined it, when he heard a low hiss from the side. He glanced to the side, and saw that there was someone crouching low in the corner, beckoning him. Then, he heard something which nearly shocked him into saying something. A voice in his head spoke to him. _If you value your life and that of your friends, I suggest you come with me._

Chichiri frowned darkly, but the figure vanished around the corner, and so with a low sight to himself, he slowly walked after him, glad that he'd taken the opportunity to put some proper clothing and shoes on before he'd come outside. He rounded the corner, and saw about five dark shapes crouched in the small alleyway, seeming to hide in the shadows. He stopped at the entrance and glanced nervously around him, trying to determine if he should worry, or trust them. Another voice sounded in his head. _Come with us dark child. We wish to discuss things with you. You or your friends shall not be harmed if you comply. You will be returned in the same condition you are now._

His eye narrowed, but he nodded in agreement. After all, he wasn't in any worse condition than he was now. The dark shapes skittered ahead of him, and he followed them silently, through the back alleys and side streets, until they reached a dark place where the figures stopped, and waited for him to approach. He stopped and saw that there was a door open on the side of a building wall. The dark figures were waiting for him, apparently to enter, he assumed. Taking a steadying breath, he slowly headed for the door, and warily stepped in, glad for his improved night vision, and he was able to make out several dark figures standing to the side, but not holding any visible weapons. He followed the corridor down a long passage overrun with varmints and rodents, and finally stopped at an iron door with several figures guarding it, who promptly opened it for him. He stepped into the proffered room warily, and saw the room was lit up brighter than the hallway and ally had been, and for the first time he saw the people who had encountered him. He stood by the door uncertainly for a minute, then the man at the table gestured to an empty chair. "Please." He said in a mellow voice. "Take a seat dark child."

Chichiri slowly stepped forward and sat in the chair, and the man poured a glass of something and offered it to him. He shook his head. "Thank you, but no."

The man nodded and sipped the drink himself, then set it down and looked at Chichiri curiously as the mage examined him. The people surrounding him were feline in origin, looking like a blend between human and cats. They were graceful looking, yet he could see that they were endowed with sharp claws and glittering predatory teeth. They had light fur covering their bodies, but had hair like humans as well. Their faces were a blend of both, and he felt even more nervous thinking what their claws might do to him. "What is this all about may I ask no da?" He asked softly.

The man smiled lightly and leaned back. "Why don't you ask the first question on your mind?"

Chichiri smiled lightly at the man's outward demeanor. "Very well. What exactly are your people no da?"

The man nodded in acknowledgment of the monk's polite question. "Well put. We are what you might consider to be…." He played with his cup and took a sip before answering. "The undesirables."

Chichiri frowned slightly. "I can hardly make that judgment without proper evidence no da."

The room burst into bright laughter, and he received a few pats on the back. "Well said my man!" The one who seemed to be the leader bellowed. He held out a paw to Chichiri. "You may call me Shun'u my boy. And you are?" He asked jovially.

Chichiri accepted the handshake with some trepidation, knowing well by now who this person represented. "I am Chichiri."

Shun'u nodded and leaned back casually. "I'm sorry for the cold and mysterious treatment, however we weren't positive that you would be someone who might listen to us. We had to make sure."

"Understandable no da." Chichiri answered nodding, feeling more at ease by the other participant's casual stances. "But may I ask what this is all about no da?" He asked leaning forward on the table with a concerned look. "I was told that my friends and my life were in danger if I didn't comply and accompany your representative no da."

Shun'u nodded. "And for that I apologize, but it was necessary to meet with you, and unfortunately threatening is often the most effective method. I assure you, we had no intention to harm you or your friends. Our intention was to meet with you alone to discuss some things."

Chichiri nodded, feeling the truth in his words, and trusting him for whom he reminded him of. "Understood no da."

Shun'u sighed and stood up. "Please, walk with me Chichiri-kun. I wish to show you something." He gestured for Chichiri to rise.

Chichiri did so, and followed him into another part of the room, then down a hallway where the others stayed while they walked on alone. "I've heard some interesting things about you Chichiri. Some very interesting things."

Chichiri smiled slightly. "Well, I'm sure most have at this point no da." He sighed and shook his head. "Most have some sort of expectations of me no da."

Shun'u chuckled lightly. "Yes, well…." He walked forward and they turned a corner, and Chichiri found himself standing before a rather good sized warehouse that was hollowed out below and above ground making a spider web of catwalks, stairways and balconies. Everywhere, the felines walked around, carrying about their own business and there was great bustle and noise as the warehouse and the below ground structure was barely enough for the thousands of people that Chichiri saw milling around.

Shun'u leaned on a railing above the large descending pit where more floors stretched farther than the eye could see. "This….. this is our home Chichiri-kun…." He said with a sad air in his voice. "A hole, a pit… a place where we have hid, lived, survived, and remain today, attempting to accommodate for the vast numbers of our people…."

Chichiri watched beside him, sharing his sadness at the conditions. "This is where you've lived for how many years no da?" He asked in a quiet reserved voice.

Shun'u nodded. "Yes…. For about a hundred years our people have made a living here….." He sighed and turned to look at Chichiri. "The humans fear us and kill any they find. We tried to go above ground, but the same fate ended up there with the Tenshi and the Akurei. It is a fierce war that all races fight here. In fact, most don't even know we exist. We've hidden here for so long….." He trailed off looking sad.

Chichiri put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "I imagine it must have been incredibly difficult…" His eye conveyed the sadness he felt inside of him to Shun'u, and the cat man smiled. "Yes….. but you see, we have a hope now." He straightened up and looked directly at Chichiri. "You are the one they call the Shiseiji are you not?" Chichiri nodded slightly. "We have also been waiting just as the humans, as the Akurei, and as the Tenshi have. We prayed, hoped, and dreamed for the day that we could finally become free, that someone would help us…" His eyes penetrated into Chichiri sharply. "It is a simple request Chichiri-kun." He sighed and gestured. "We can't live like this forever…..it's a miserable existence as it is."

Chichiri nodded. "I agree….." He glanced down at the pit, and his stomach churned to see children running and laughing happily, malnourished and some with fur missing from lack of nutrients. "I would love to help your people in any way that I can no da."

Shun'u's face brightened. "Honto ni? You will help us?"

Chichiri nodded firmly. "If it's anything I can't stand, it's having people live in such deplorable conditions like this….. and I can't stand the hatred, the racism, and the bias I seem to find everywhere." He sighed. "It seems that a lot is weighted on my shoulders….. but if I don't try something, who will?"

Shun'u nodded in agreement. "Heh, some have tried Chichiri-san….. some have tried."

Chichiri glanced at him. "What do you mean no da?"

Shun'u led him down some stairs further into the pit. "Well, we have sent representatives to negotiate with all races, but they usually never return… then there are the legends of those who run away and seek refuge in the far mountains and interbreed with each other in defiance of their races." He smiled. "Personally, I think that's a good thing, but then it's a preference."

Chichiri chuckled quietly. "Well, I can't say I disapprove or approve since I seem to be living proof of such incidences no da."

Shun'u chuckled and slapped him on the back. "Yeah, guess ya are pal." He led him to a vender's stall and they sat down while Shun'u ordered some food, then they both sat and ate. Chichiri was unsure of the cuisine at first, but said nothing and sampled it, finding that it was tolerable, though strange. "What do you wish me to do no da?" He asked when they had finished.

Shun'u leaned back casually against the bar, and Chichiri glanced at the numerous children, adults, and onlookers they had drawn. The children would continuously stare at his black wings with wonder in their faces. He smiled at them, and turned his back so that his wings faced them. "Go ahead no da." He said gently. They looked up with wonder, then slowly began stroking the feathers, whispering in hushed excited voices as they learned, felt, and saw new things they'd never seen, but had only dreamt of.

"Well….. I had heard from our…. Undercover informants," He winked at Chichiri, "That you were taking an envoy of humans up to the surface to work out things and talk with the two other races."

Chichiri nodded. "Yes, that is what we are planning no da."

Shun'u smiled. "Well, a simple request for us, would be to allow some of our people to go with you as representatives from our race as well."

Chichiri nodded immediately. "Consider it done no da." He shook hands firmly with Shun'u as they both smiled.

"Great, I had a feeling you would agree." He smirked and grinned showing his sharp fangs. "You struck me as the type of person who would be the kind to help people right off the bat."

Chichiri smiled slightly and shrugged modestly. "I hate to see poverty, mistreatment, malnourishment, and suffering no da. I've always tried to help when I can no da."

Shun'u nodded. "Yeah, you and me both." He stood. "Well, we better get ya back to your people before they worry where you went to now, shouldn't' we." He led Chichiri back to the room they'd started out in, and a few of the others straightened as they entered. "Chichiri-san." He said turning to him. "I've chosen three of my best and most loyal warriors to accompany you." He nodded, and three stepped forward, two males, and a female. "They are ordered to protect you and work negotiations with whomever you work with." He smiled. "They are loyal and honest, and will be valuable should you run into trouble." He put a hand on Chichiri's shoulder. "I can't thank you enough for doing this….." He said, gratitude saturating his voice.

Chichiri smiled and nodded. "Again, it is my honor and pleasure to aid you, Shun'u." They shook hands again, and Shun'u handed him something. Chichiri glanced down and saw it was a plain gold ring. "This is a small trinket of my gratitude to you. It's a magical ring, it induces your stamina, healing, and defenses. It will make you twice as agile, twice as resilient, twice as fast for healing." He smiled. "Good luck to you my friend." 


	12. Chapter 12

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Confrontations_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>Chichiri smiled and nodded, then headed towards the exit, flanked by the three warriors. They exited the building, and headed back to the doctor's in the dim light of the caves. They reached the apartment finally, and Chichiri walked up and entered, to find the others standing around talking in worried voices. The minute the group entered, they spun around, and Sou drew his sword quick as a flash. "Chichiri! What the…." He stared at the felines in shock. "Those….. those are….."<p>

Juan looked shaken, and Doukun was standing there with an open mouth, then seemed to snap out of it. "The Obsidian race! By god, the legends are true! They do exist!" He walked over quickly and bowed formally before them. "It is a complete honor to make your acquaintance." He said politely.

The Obsidians looked surprised, but sheathed their weapons and bowed in return. "An honor." The black furred male spoke in a smooth voice. "I am Ori and this is Sun'ra and Miare."

Doukun bowed again. "Truly an honor!" He straightened up and looked up at Chichiri. "How did you find them Chichiri-san?"

Chichiri scratched his head slightly. "They actually found me no da….. The requested to speak with me, and we did so no da." He walked over and sat down in a chair, and the others joined him as he told them the story. The Obsidian stood beside the table, silent and ever watchful.

"So…" Juan said softly. "This is a very interesting development….."

Chichiri nodded and leaned against the table. "So, are we going to meet with the council today no da?"

Sou nodded. "Yes, I already arranged it. We're meeting in half an hour." He glanced at the Obsidian. "But our visitors will draw quite a stir of emotions there…. They won't be expecting them."

"All the better no da." Chichiri said cheerily. "Now, may I have some of your spectacular beverage you made last night Doukun na no da?" He asked in his high pitched voice.

* * *

><p>"Silence silence! Please can we get some order?"<p>

The moderator sighed in frustration and threw his arms up in defeat, not being able to be heard above the roar of the crowd that was assembled to hear the plans. He sat down and sighed, putting a hand to his head in indication of a headache.

Chichiri stood up slowly from where he was seated with Juan, Sou, Doukun, and the Obsidians. He glanced around. Most of the chaos had started by the Obsidian's arrival, but there was just general chaos since the downfall of the Minister. He shook his head, then brought his fingers to his mouth in a gesture that Tasuki had taught him several years ago, focused his ki, and let out a piercing whistle that made everyone slam their hands over their ears, and immediately shut up. He smiled in satisfaction, and returned to his seat, nodding to the moderator who was staring at him with some shock. The moderator blinked, then stood up. "All right…. Now that we have some order…." He turned to the assembled council. "We're here to discuss the plan of sending an envois to the topworld to negotiate with the two races." He gestured to Chichiri's group, and Chichiri and Sou stood up and walked forward to the front of the floor and faced the council.

"Identify yourselves before the council." The head of the panel said formally.

"Member of the militia, third rank commander, Sou." Sou said formally, bowing before the council.

Chichiri blinked to himself wondering what he should identify himself as….. "Suzaku Shichi Seishi Chichiri, child of the Tenshi and Akurei, Shiseiji, Ri Houjun." Chichiri said, bowing equally to the council. Sou looked at him with surprise. He'd thought Chichiri had been his own name….

"Very well, Sou, Houjun, state your intentions and suggestions before the Council regarding the attempt to contact the two above world races."

Sou glanced at Chichiri, and the monk nodded for him to go ahead. "Council of the elders, we propose sending an envois of our peoples up with the Shiseiji to negotiate a treaty and pact with the Akurei first, then attempt similar strategies with the Tenshi."

The Council exchanged glances and made some comments among themselves, then turned their eyes to Chichiri. "What is your say on this matter, topsider?"

Chichiri stepped forward and thought before he spoke. "I have an ally in the Akurei palace who I believe will be trustworthy to deal with. He is a peace keeper like myself and Sou-san, and his intentions would undoubtedly fit with our own no da. We plan to approach him, along with our Obsidian companions in representation of their race, to work out a deal no da."

The Council spoke among themselves, then turned and glanced at the Obsidian. "Would the Obsidian peoples step forward, identify themselves, and speak their part.

The three representatives did so, and stood tall, not bowing before the council. The black male spoke again, apparently the leader for the usually silent group. "I am known as Ori. My companions are Sun'ra and Miare. We represent our peoples wishes and views, and the Shiseiji has agreed to allow us to accompany him on his quest."

The council spoke again amongst themselves. Then the faced the group again. "We have no say in your accompanying the Shiseiji. You are not under our authority, and so therefore we cannot request anything from you." The Obsidian seemed very shocked by their reactions, but small smiles appeared on their faces as they bowed slightly and resumed their seats. The council faced the other two again. "We approve of your plan. Shall you be taking any warriors with you?"

They both nodded, and Sou spoke. "I have some in mind." He gestured, and two human warriors stepped forward. "May I introduce, Chou and Seishiku." The two new humans bowed while Chichiri hid a smile behind his hand as he pretended to wipe the sweat from his face. "They are valiant warriors, and dedicated in the preservation of our people."

The council nodded and exchanged looks among themselves. "Yes, we approve of your choices. Therefore, we authorize you to go forth and execute your plan."

The group bowed before the council, and then took their leave with the others. They all headed back to Juan's office, and picked up Kaira who had been accompanying Tama-neko, and playing happily with the kitten. Once the others got in, she latched onto Chichiri tightly and he smiled and scooped her up into his arms and put her on his hip.

They all settled down and began planning their strategies. Chichiri mainly watched since he didn't know anything about the layout of the land, nor the weapons or routes. Once the others had worked out a descent route, they sat back and started just chatting with each other. They were to leave early tomorrow morning to get an early start since climbing up the stairs would take a while by itself. They said it was about a weeks travel to the Akurei lands, and another three days to the main palace after that, if they didn't hit bad weather crossing the mountain passes.

Chichiri simply closed his eye and let his thoughts drift off absently as Kaira snoozed on his chest, and began thinking about home….. he may have found the equivalents of the friends he had known, but it wasn't the same at all… he sighed lightly to himself. No matter how interesting it was here, he felt alone. 


	13. Chapter 13

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Emergance_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>"Good morning sunshine!" Came a bright and cheery voice from beside his ear very loudly. Chichiri groaned and opened his eye a crack to see Sou grinning down at him. "Time to go, get up." He tore the covers off and threw them on the floor to entice Chichiri to get up.<p>

"I'm up I'm up na no da." He grumbled and sat up stretching. He yawned and stumbled into his clothes, and met the others out front. It was still dim in the caverns, the artificial light imitating sunlight just rising. He yawned tiredly and hugged Kaira a good morning, and sipped the hot drink offered to him. The others were strapping their packs onto their backs, adjusting their weapons, and making final preparations. He glanced down at his own pack and smiled to himself in thought. He had some supplies for Kaira as well in there, and his wings weren't going to cooperate with him if he wore it. He crouched down beside it and concentrated on it, and then set his hand on it, and it suddenly shrank very slowly into his palm, the size of a small rock, and just as light. The others had paused to stare at him, then exchanged glances and immediately removed their own packs quickly. He chuckled, and did the same for theirs, and they all made their packs safe in their belt sacks. Chichiri accepted the short sword and the dagger that Sou handed him with some caution. He wasn't used to using weapons, but he knew it would be wise to keep them just in case, or for display only.

Once they had all eaten and finished preparations, they glanced at each other with warm looks, and Sou clapped his hands together. "Well! Guess we'll be off then!" Chichiri and Sou both shook hands with Juan and Doukun, and offered Tama-neko a final scratch on the head. Then, they all exited the building, not saying any farewells or speaking about good-byes, but setting off with purpose and a strong stride towards the stairs at the far end of the cavern.

They continued on in some silence, each pondering their own thoughts for a while, then the female Obsidian came beside Chichiri and struck up a small conversation with him. "What is it like in the sun?" She asked quietly.

He glanced at her, and saw the others were looking as well. "You've never been up to the surface before no da?" He asked.

"No, never." Sun'ra said solemnly. "We've heard what it is like from our teachers, and our legends. But none of our kind have been up there…..not for over 100 years."

Chichiri shook his head. "It's hard to imagine life without the sun for me no da….." He smiled. "You'll like it no da. It's warm, and it will most likely be bright for you too at first no da." He smiled. "In here it's so dim, and I've adjusted to it no da. But you might have some trouble with the brightness outside no da." They looked like they were thinking it over for a while, and he smiled gently and continued. "You'll like the wind no da. Down here there isn't much, if any it's damp and musty smelling no da. But up there, it's fresh, cool and warm, depending on the weather, and it's something that lifts your hair, tickles your skin, or fur, and just makes you feel good and free no da."

They looked wistful and truly inspired by his words. "How can you not fall off into the sky on the top of the world?" Miare asked softly, apprehension dancing in her purple eyes. "I'd think you'd be frightened of falling off of the earth."

Chichiri chuckled. "Do you worry about falling up to the ceiling where the stalactites are na no da?" He asked. They shook their heads. "The same principle applies no da. It's the same as in here, only….. different, and with a spectacular view no da." He smiled fondly. "I've yet to see the stars in this world yet."

They looked at each other puzzled. "What are stars?"

Chichiri went on to explain more and more. The three humans and Kaira listened, occasionally smiling since they had all been above ground once or twice before, and knew what to expect. Finally, their escapade brought them to the staircase, and they paused to catch their breath and glanced back at the underground valley, almost as if saying farewell. The Obsidian stared in awe, never have been up this high, or seeing a sight quite like it before. It was a whole new world to them, that had remained just beyond their fingertips their whole lives…..

Then, the moment was over as they turned and ascended into the staircase, upwards and upwards, winding around and around. Chichiri once again withdrew his wings to fit, and managed to startle the living daylights out of the Obsidian in the process. They recovered quickly though, admiring his talents.

It took several hours to climb, with frequent rests between periods, until they finally emerged into the dark upper cavern, and stood there stretching, recovering, and getting their wind back.

Once they had rested, they started forward, walking on the uneven rocky ground out towards the exit. As they neared it, Chichiri felt a gentle breeze lift his bangs, and he got the fresh scent of flowers. He smiled despite himself, and glanced to see the Obsidian looking amazed at the new scents. The light began gradually getting stronger and stronger, until at last, they saw the large opening to the cavern ahead of them. They emerged out into the bright sunlight, and even Chichiri had to shield his eyes as the sun poured warmly down around them. It had been cold and damp in the caverns, and was a stark contrast to the bright sunlight pouring down around them in floods. The Obsidian were hanging back, shielding their eyes still from under the shadows. Chichiri smiled and gestured. "Come on no da, best to come out and get it over with no da. It's better once you've adjusted na no da."

They slowly came out, flinching in the bright light, then slowly began looking around, their feline eyes wide in astonishment at the surrounding mountains covered in snow. "Good Mother on High." Sun'ra whispered making some quick gesture indicating prayer. "I've never thought that the upper world was so….. extraordinarily beautiful."

The others laughed heartily, and they all stood there taking in the scenery. Chichiri chuckled, stretching his glossy wings. "Forgive me… but I must stretch my muscles a bit no da." He smiled and scooped Kaira up as she squealed in glee about going for a flight. "I'll be back no da!" The watched as he leapt into the air with a strong pump of his wings, and shaded their eyes as they trailed him as he soared out over the valley, diving plunging, and dancing in the wind with pleasure. It was something that he enjoyed more than anything else in his life… flying was the most exhilarating sensation he'd ever experienced. He felt his blood pumping, soaring, and his heart racing with every stroke he pumped, with every rush of wind that tickled his feathers. It revitalized him like nothing else.

Finally after about 15 minutes, he flew down and landed again, a rosy glow to his face that the others smiled at once they saw it. He couldn't' help smiling. "That felt very good no da….."

They all laughed. "I guess you're lucky then." Sou said with a jolly smile. "I'm scared stiff of heights personally."

They all broke out into laughter, merry at the bright atmosphere, the stiff cool breeze and the spectacular scenery. They then began their trek towards their destination. It was a spectacular trail that they walked along. They stuck to the mountains working their way up more and more, then once they reached the summit, they began their descent into mountains that were jagged and rocky. According to Sou, the Akurei lands were at the far north region of these mountains.

Their hike was long and tiring, through difficult terrain and sometimes their path disappeared altogether and they had to hunt for it by sending Chichiri into the air to see from an aerial view. Luckily, they found it quite easily that way. Their path took them to the bottom of the first mountain range that day, and as the sun began it's descent over the rim of the far mountains, they set up their camp, and all sat in silence watching the colorful painting of colors before them.

After the sun had set, they set about their meal, and once that was finished, they all curled up inside their bedding and lay watching the shimmering stars on their backs. Miare's voice came softly in the silence of the night as they observed the heavens. "So….. those are the stars… what are they?"

Chichiri smiled as their heads all turned to him since he had lived topworld all his life. "Well, there are many theories on that no da….. some say they are the spirits of the past residents, gazing down and watching us as we go about our lives no da." He smiled thinking how his own friends might be watching him now, it warmed his heart to think so…. Knowing he had those who cared deeply for him, keeping an eye on him. "In my world, each pattern of stars has a name and a significance na no da…. In my world I was a special warrior who drew their name from the stars no da."

"Does that have anything to do with what you said back in the courtroom that other day?" Asked Sou. "Sishi seichi or something like that?"

Chichiri chuckled. "Hai, Shichi Seishi. I am one of the seven warriors who has a constellation pattern no da." He pulled his right leg out and bent it, and his character flared there. "Chichiri is the name of my constellation na no da."

They all looked impressed. "So there's seven of people like you?"

"Yes, seven for each quadrant no da….. Suzaku is whom I served no da….. there are three others, each with 7 warriors na no da."

They nodded in understanding, and things grew silent for a long time…. Then Kaira's soft voice spoke up from beside Chichiri. "Will…. Will you go back home when you're done here?"

He blinked in surprise and stared up at the glittering stars for a long time before answering slowly. "I don't know….. back home….. there are people whom I know and care for…. But I don't see them as often as I wish….. I'm sort of a wanderer no da. I really just aimlessly find my way around the world no da."

Sou chuckled. "You don't seem that type to me Chichiri-san."

He smiles slightly, his eyelid drooping. "Mmm…. I've changed a lot since I was younger….." And with that their conversation drifted off as they fell asleep in oblivion, dreams of stars and hopes flying in their heads. 


	14. Chapter 14

**_Akurei mo Tenshi no Shiseiji_  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Tasuki's foul mouth  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

_Generations_

**Standard disclaimer:**_ These characters aren't mine they're created by the wonderful Watase Yuu, although I wish they were, Houjun-chan is such a hottie! So don't sue me, I need o-ka-ne right now..._

* * *

><p>The entire trip took less than a week as planned, there was no snowstorms as they crossed the mountains, no slowdowns aside from the flock of mountain goats that charged them when the accidentally stumbled onto their breeding ground. Aside from that, their trip was uneventful and pleasant. When they finally reached the Akurei lands, they stood on top of a lookout and stared down at the jagged peaks covered with snow, and saw the frequent Akurei flying here and there. They all glanced at Chichiri as if to say 'What now?' since he was the one that the Akurei were looking for.<p>

He sighed and crossed his arms. "Well no da… I suppose we just go down there and someone will notice us no da….or we be furtive and sneak in to the palace and find D'nari no da."

Miare frowned. "How can we be furtive? We'll stand out like a sore thumb down there no matter where we hide."

Chichiri frowned. "I could try a invisibility spell….or transportation…..or even flight for all of us so we can stay up here…or a combination…."

Ori stepped up beside him. "Would it be possible to transport us directly there? That would save a three day's journey."

He nodded. "Hai, I could get there if I knew what it looked like no da…as it is, I've never been there no da."

The others looked thoughtful. "Well… I've never been there, and I doubt anyone else has….." Sou said slowly. "So what other options do we have?"

Chichiri thought for a moment. "There is another way I could transport us there instantly no da, but it's risky no da." They looked expectantly at him. He took a breath. "I could directly transport us to where D'nari's ki is, since I've met him before and recognize it. Now there's no guarantee that when we arrive, we will arrive in a private place no da, so we might cause quite a stir no da, perhaps panic."

They nodded slowly. "But then, we might end up in his bedroom or something too." Sou offered. Chichiri nodded. "Well….. it might be better to take the risk…." He said slowly. "After all, if they see you, they won't attack right away."

Chichiri nodded in agreement. "True no da. So, do we want to risk it no da?"

The others nodded in agreement. "I think it's worth a shot." Ori said calmly drawing his sword. "After all, we can defend ourselves if need be."

Chichiri nodded curtly and closed his eye, bringing his hands up in concentration by his face. A light white ki began to shimmer around him, and then it opened up in a bright light surrounding them all, and then they were swallowed up into the fierce blinding light. When it faded, they found themselves in a dark stone corridor lit with small flickering torches. Chichiri looked a bit weary, but rubbed his forehead and glanced around warily. The Obsidian drew their swords and stood at ready, and the humans looked in both directions cautiously. "So….where is he?" Sou whispered in a hushed voice to Chichiri.

Chichiri closed his eye in concentration again, and then pointed down the hall to the right. "There no da."

They slowly made their way down the corridor, until they came to a closed door at the end. Ori crept up to it on cat's feet and listened with his ear to the door intently for several minutes before nodding to them and whispering in a voice barley audible. "He is in there with one other person. It is a small room, with windows overlooking the mountains most likely."

Chichiri and the humans looked impressed. "How did you know that?" Chou asked in a soft voice with a curious look.

Ori smiled and tapped his head. "We have sharper senses than humans do."

Chichiri smiled and shook his head. "Let me go first no da." He walked up to the door and knocked politely on it, startling all of them, making them jump back in shock.

"You IDIOT!" Hissed Miare angrily. "What are you thinking?"

Chichiri merely smiled lightly and turned his attention back to the door as a familiar voice spoke up. "Who is it?"

"D'nari-san? It's Chichiri."

There was silence for a while, then sudden footsteps rushing towards the door, and it was yanked open to reveal the muscular young militant leader of the Akurei staring at him with wide violet eyes. "My god! You're here!" He stared down the hall at the others in bewilderment. "What…"

Chichiri smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Daijoubu na no da. We'll explain it all no da. Can we come in so we don't draw attention no da?"

D'nari instantly shifted aside. "Yes yes, please!" He gestured, and they all entered warily into the room, and he closed and bolted the door after them. "My god…. We thought you were dead…. Or worse! What happened? We'd heard you'd disappeared without a trace and the Tenshi wouldn't tell us a thing!"

Chichiri shook his head. "Long story no da." He proceeded to tell him the whole thing, and the others stood there politely listening, having become adjusted with D'nari's positive behavior towards them.

When Chichiri finished, D'nari leaned back deep in thought. "Sou….." He murmured, then a smile lit his face. "Chichiri, you're truly a genius!" He slapped the monk on the back. "Not only do you return here better than when I left you, but you have already started organizing the other races!" He shook his head and turned to the others. "Forgive me, but I don't believe we were properly introduced." He bowed to them. "I am Lord D'nari of the Akurei empire, counsel to the advisors of the Regent." He smiled. "And it is a complete shock and honor for me to finally see the other races that have been rumored to exist, but I have never had the pleasure of meeting."

The humans and the Obsidian seemed taken aback, but bowed in return and introduced themselves formally. They felt more confidant now that they had before they had met him. Chichiri sighed in relief, and glanced to the side, and his eye widened in slight surprise. There was someone else standing there in the back of the room by the shadows… He glanced over to see all of the others talking among themselves, and slipped away unnoticed to approach the person. He smiled lightly, but the figure seemed to want to retreat. He stopped. "Daijoubu na no da…." He said gently. He held out a hand to the person. "I'm Chichiri na no da."

The figures seemed hesitant, but slowly accepted his hand and shook it shyly. "A….atashi wa….." a soft feminine voice spoke lowly, "Kouri."

Chichiri smiled gently at her, and bowed. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance na no da."

She smiled shyly, lowering her head so that the shadows covered it more. He shook his head in slight amusement and glanced back at the others. "Why don't you join us no da?"

She didn't answer right away, and he glanced at her, and she spoke softly in her timid voice. "Because….. I'm different than they…."

He raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. "How so no da?"

She never got to answer, since another voice called out. "Oi, Chichiri?" He turned his head to see the others staring in his direction. D'nari beckoned. "Come on you two…. Join us."

Chichiri felt Kouri tense beside him, but he smiled reassuringly at her. "Daijoubu na no da. I'm different too no da, but they are as well. We're all different in our own way no da." And with that he took her hand and gently pulled her forward. She followed him tentatively into the middle of the room.

D'nari put a hand on his shoulder as he joined them. "So I see you've met my daughter."

Chichiri smiled and glanced at her. She was stunningly beautiful, he couldn't understand why she would want to hide from everyone. She had long deep violet hair, slightly wavy, and half pulled back into a half braid going down her back. She had a light black shade of skin, more grayish brown than black, and her eyes, though lowered, were a light crystal blue color. She was slender and well proportioned, and she also had glossy black feathers like he did. She was also about his height.

Chichiri glanced at her with a smile. "Hai no da. She's your daughter no da?" He asked curiously, something not meeting right in his mind suddenly.

He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her. "Yes, she is."

Chichiri blinked, then his eye widened. "Wait….didn't you say…." He started uncertainly giving him a glance.

D'nari smiled lightly. "Say what Chichiri-sama?"

Chichiri blinked uncertainly. "I thought…. Your race was male no da….."

"It is."

Everyone blinked in surprise, and turned their gazes to the young woman by his side, and then realization passed across Chichiri's face. "Sou da na…." He murmured with a smile. "Wakatta." He chuckled to himself and smiled at Kouri. "Then we have more similarities with each other than you supposed na no da."

She glanced hesitantly up at him and favored him with a small smile. The others just glanced at each other and shrugged. "So, what now?" Ori asked.

D'nari smiled. "Well, I'll bring Chichiri to the council upon an emergency meeting. I'm not sure if it would be wise to bring all of you at the same time, or to wait a few days…. What do you think Chichiri-sama?" He asked, turning to the mage.

Chichiri closed his eye in thought, rubbing his chin lightly. "Hmm….. I think it would be best to bring everything out into the open at once no da, get everything cleared out so that no one feels we are attempting to hide anything from them no da."

Everyone nodded in agreement at that suggestion. "Reasonable enough." D'nari said with a straightening of his shoulders. "Then I'll call an emergency meeting for tomorrow at noon. Everyone will be there, all of us, all of the regents, and…." He glanced at his daughter. "You will go as well my dear."

Her eyes widened in fear. "Me? But….."

"It is time that the regents be aware of your existence my dear." He said tenderly taking her chin in his hand. "Chichiri and you are the only existing ones of your particular kind. No that he is here, it's time for you to stop hiding."

She lowered her head in a near shameful look, but her father hugged her tightly to him. "Enough of this my dear… it must be done. Besides, you can't live your whole life this way, in hiding and secrecy. You deserve so much more!"

Chichiri smiled sadly to himself, understanding what she must be going through. He glanced at the others, and saw they didn't understand it as he did, so let it go. He glanced back to see a small tear trickle from her cheek onto her father's shoulder.

His heart throbbed inside of him, but he forced himself to stay out of it. There was little he could do to offer comfort to her at this point. Once the two had parted, D'nari straightened up. "Well then, I'll find some rooms for you and get you all some food. You're most likely starving at this point, ne?" He smiled warmly. "This way please." He headed towards the door, and the group followed.

Chichiri threw a glance back at the young woman standing at the wide window, looking forlorn and unhappy, and paused for a moment watching her. He wanted to go over and say something, feeling somewhat at the center of her unhappiness….. but he stood there, not able to move or say anything to her.

Finally, he turned away and followed the disappearing group down the hallway, a strange empty feeling inside of his chest, pounding at his heart and soul….. 


End file.
